Different Cities
by acidonix
Summary: Annabeth Chase's necklace has always been cold. When she goes to London on business, she finds the person that turns her necklace warm; her soulmate. With their companies feuding, an intense rivalry ensues with love caught in the middle.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Annabeth's necklace had always been cold. Ice cold, in fact so cold that she always had to wear a shirt that came up high enough. She had tried to take it off over and over again. She knew the chances of her finding her soulmate were slim if it was that cold. She guessed he was somewhere on the other side of the world, Europe or Asia maybe. So, instead of spending her life like every other twenty-something year old in the country, she spent it working. Some may say she was a workaholic, but she just thought she was dedicated. A smart business woman, who at the age of twenty-seven had gotten the job of CEO at Allure Architectural in New York City.

The necklaces were the world's way of stopping divorce. Divorce hurt children's psychology, which in turn hurt the productivity of the next generation, which then meant less money. United Nations came up with it about 200 years ago. When your necklace was cold, you weren't anywhere near your soulmate. When warm, you were within about a hundred miles, and when it gets to the point of it burning you, he or she is right in front and the necklace snaps off. Most of Annabeth's friends had had warm necklaces in high school. Piper had found Jason a few years ago, Hazel found Frank about six months ago. They all had grown up in the state of New York, but Annabeth never envied them. She was just on a different path in life. A path in which today was full of boring paperwork and calls from contractors who couldn't get the job done.

"Hello, this is Annabeth Chase." Annabeth juggled her coffee and phone, trying to sound professional at the same time as hailing a cab. "Yes, hi, I can meet at 10 today to take a look at the progress on the building?" She paused, waiting for a response. "Okay great, I'll see you then." She got in the taxi, "370 7th Ave."

"Yes ma'am." The driver swerved over and started their drive. Fifteen minutes later, even though it was only five blocks, they arrived. She paid and stepped out answering another phone call while taking a sip of her strong black coffee.

"Hello," She wallowed in the warmth of the drink, "Yes, Amelia, I'll be right there, my taxi driver wasn't the fastest."

"Your meeting starts in ten minutes!" Amelia answered frantically. Annabeth rolled her eyes. Yet another assistant she'd have to fire. She had yet to find one that didn't crumple at the sign of any stress.

"And I prepared at home, I'm completely ready. I'll be up in 5." Annabeth ended the call, not wanting to hear anymore. It was a cold, but sunny December Monday, about 10 days from Christmas. Monday's meant board meetings, which Annabeth ran. The elevator dinged and she stepped out, her heels clicking on the floor. "Ms. Chase." and "Hello." echoed through the lobby. Not bothering to step into her office, she pushed open the doors of Conference Room C and started her day.

—

Paperwork was one of Annabeth's least favorite things. Architecture had a lot, more then she realized before she became CEO. It was a constant stream of release forms and confidentiality forms and lawsuit forms. She absolutely hated it. Just as she was knocking out her last one (it was around 2 at this point) somebody knocked on her door.

"Come in," She said, rather absentmindedly.

"Ms. Chase, you had a phone call from Zeus. He'd like two homes, one in Europe and on here in New York. He wants you and Mr. Jackson to communicate and build them together. He's arranged for you to fly there, as he wants the one in London built first. You leave on Wednesday." Amelia said, her voice steadier then it had previously been.

Annabeth looked up, slowly. "What."

Amelia interlocked her hands, twitching nervously. "Um, Zeus wants new ho-"

"I heard what you said. I cannot just pack up and go to Europe for god knows how long!" Annabeth threw her pen down. "Tell him I can't do it. I don't care that we're related, I'm not doing it on such short notice."

"Well… that's the problem." Amelia hesitated.

"What?" Annabeth snapped.

"Your mother already told him yes. Zeus wasn't asking, he was telling."

"Great, that's fucking awesome." Annabeth sighed. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault. Get my mother on the line please."

"Yes, ma'am." Amelia scurried out of her office.

Annabeth picked up her work phone. "Mom."

"Annabeth, hello. Did you hear the news? This will be huge for the company." Athena said, without any cheer in her voice.

"I'm not going." She stated.

Athena laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. You'll do as I say. Don't forget this was _my_ company before yours."

"I worked hard to get here. I cannot just up and leave for who knows how long?!"

"It will be fine. Malcolm will do a good job while you're gone. You and I both trust him. This discussion is over. You're going and that's final." Annabeth rolled her eyes and hung up without a goodbye. Annabeth hit her desk in frustration, her sweaty palms leaving a mark on the finished dark wood. Her mother had retired young, leaving the company to Annabeth, but it would never be hers completely until her mother passed away. Their relationship had always been a working one, and both Malcolm and she weren't close to Athena. Even when they were little, not even five, they were being prepped to become the next big CEO of Allure Architecture. Annabeth won her mom's competition between the two of them without even knowing it. Lost in her thoughts, her phone rang. _Piper._

"What's up?" Annabeth asked.

"Hey, have you had lunch yet?" Piper asked.

"No, and I could use a distraction. Jade?" Annabeth asked.

"Sure, I'll meet you there in 10." Piper said. Annabeth hung up, grabbed her long, tan trench coat and headed out the door.

Their banh mi sandwiches and salad rolls came quickly, and they both dug in.

"You will not believe what I have to do this week." Annabeth said as she took a bite of her sandwich. "Zeus, you know, my mom's brother," Piper nodded, mouth full of salad roll. "He wants me to go to London to build him a home with Percy Jackson."

"You mean your rival Percy Jackson?" Piper asked.

"Yes, oh god, I didn't even think of that. How are we supposed to work together? Our two companies hate each other." Annabeth sighed. "Who knows how long I'll be over there. Could be two months, or two weeks."

"Let's go together." Piper suggested a small smile on her face. "With Hazel and Frank and Jason."

"You guys can't just uproot your lives like that. It's Christmas in ten days! Besides, you and Jason are getting married in less than six months! What about wedding planning?"

"Annabeth, we have nothing going on. We all have minimum wage jobs that can easily be quit and found again when we get back. I'll talk to Hazel and Frank. When do you leave?"

"Wednesday." Annabeth said. "If you really can go, that would be awesome, but don't make it a priority please, I'll be fine on my own."

"Of course. I'll let you know as soon as I can." Piper smiled. "It'll be fun, we can rent a house in the countryside, drive into the city and go shopping…"

Annabeth laughed. "Yeah, while I make the money to support that."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Hey, we're doing you a favor by going."

Annabeth laughed again. "Whatever." They split the bill, and both hailed cabs.

Piper waved, "Bye! I'll call you and let you know, but I'm sure it'll be a yes."

"Okay, I'll see you later." Annabeth got in her taxi and leaned back sighing. "Um, 157 West 57th Street please." She decided to go home and get work done there, after everything that had happened today she couldn't go back to the office right now.

"Yes, ma'am." The driver said, and sped off into Manhattan traffic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Annabeth**

 **Razbliuto – the sentimental feeling you have about someone you once loved but no longer do**

Annabeth's home was… bleak, to say the least. She really only slept here, so it was spotless clean besides the papers scattered on her dining room table. Everything was white, with dark gray accents, making the huge penthouse look even bigger. Her fridge was full of leftover takeout and instant mac and cheese. Annabeth balanced herself on her counter, and slipped off her heels, feet sore from a long day. She sighed and sat down at her dining room table, which could fit eight, but she rarely had company. The only other people who had ever seen the place were Piper and Hazel, and they only came around once every six months or so. She put her head in her hands, exasperated, and tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

Two days. Just two days to get ready. That thought alone was a stressful idea, never mind the idea of leaving her business for two months, and on top of that having to work with Percy Jackson. Annabeth was a planner. Lists were made weeks in advance, If she ever travelled, she booked tickets 6 months ahead of time, and spent the rest of those 6 months planning every little detail. Lost in her thoughts, she had somehow wandered over to her bedroom. She opened her closet, dreading packing. She piled pencil skirt after blouse after blazer into the suitcase, then remembered she had to sleep in something, and brought out an old Columbia University sweatshirt and some shorts. An hour later, her suitcase was filled to the brim with clothes. She laid down on her bed, work clothes still on, and within minutes she was asleep at just 7:00.

Annabeth jolted out of bed, disoriented. Her alarm blared across the room, and she looked at the clock. 9:00. Shit. She was so late. She crossed her room and blearily looked down at her phone. _Piper_. The screen read. Realization dawned. She looked down at her rumpled gray pencil skirt, and inwardly sighed in relief.

"Hello?" Annabeth answered.

"Annabeth! I called you like four times." Piper said.

"Sorry, I was sleeping."

"It's 9:00." Piper stated.

"I know, I know. I was tired. What's up?"

"We can go! Jason said he was totally fine with it, and Frank and Hazel just agreed." Piper half-screamed into the phone. Annabeth pulled it away from her ear, a look of irritation etched on her face.

"Piper calm down." Annabeth said. "That's great though. We leave Wednesday at 10, so I'll meet you guys at the airport at 8?"

"Sounds good. Also, Hazel and I were going to get some drinks tonight. Do you want to come?" Piper asked.

Annabeth looked down at her wrinkled clothes, then looked in a mirror for the first time since that morning, and almost laughed in disgust. Her hair was knotted, and mascara was smeared under her eyes. She had dark purple circles under her eyes, and looked like she had gotten out of bed after a weeklong nap. "I'd say yes, but it would take me so long to get ready, you'd probably be done already. I'll just see you Wednesday."

"Okay, are you sure? Maybe you'd meet a guy! I mean, your necklace won't work, but plenty of people are in relationships without their soulmate." Piper asked.

"I know, Pipes. I'm just not ready after Luke still. Have a good time. I'll see you later." Annabeth put it on speaker and attempted to put her hair in a ponytail, but failed miserably.

"Okay, see you soon!" They hung up, and Annabeth dejectedly walked towards her shower, knowing she would be thankful tomorrow morning that she hadn't let the knots in her hair get any worse.

The next day passed uneventfully. Annabeth spent most of Tuesday prepping Malcolm and Amelia for her time away. Tuesday night was spent with Netflix and spaghetti from her favorite Italian place. Soon, she was standing in JFK with her friends, and was the only one looking like she had gotten any sleep the last night.

"So early." Piper moaned, dragging her suitcase along like it was the heaviest thing in the world.

"It's so annoying how you have to get to the airport so much earlier. I mean, the flight is at ten, shouldn't we just be able to show up at 9:30?" Hazel complained.

"This is way too early for me." Jason said, following in their footsteps.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm regretting bringing you guys." She led the way, eyes bright and alert. She had always been a morning person. She blamed it on her competitive drive, or thanked her competitive drive, whatever way you looked at it.

They made it to their terminal, the four of them complaining the whole way. Thirty minutes later, and then another fifteen minutes because of a delayed flight, they sat in the huge jet. Annabeth had claimed a window seat, Piper in the middle, and Hazel in the aisle. The boys sat right behind them. Piper bounced up and down.

"This is so exciting. I've never been to Europe before." Piper said excitedly. Hazel and Annabeth just rolled their eyes. Hazel plugged her headphones in and was asleep before the plane even took off. Annabeth leaned her head against the side, gazing out towards the blue skies. Soon enough, with the help of some music, she had drifted off.

After seven hours of movies, failed sleep, and listening to Piper talk nonstop about the apartment she had rented in downtown London, they finally landed. It was ten in London, and by the time they had gotten their bags and picked up their rental, it was almost eleven. Annabeth's necklace was notably warmer, but it didn't bother her. She knew the guy had to be out there somewhere. Still, the thought of him being here, in London… She shook her head. She couldn't think like that.

The drive to their apartment was quiet. Jason focused on staying on the left side of the road, Frank gave directions from the passenger seat, and Piper, Hazel and Annabeth chatted about their day tomorrow.

"Annabeth, what time is your meeting?" Hazel asked.

"10. I'll be done with work probably by 2, maybe earlier." She said.

"Hazel, you and I should go grocery shopping tomorrow in the morning. We're gonna need things. Then I want to go see Buckingham Palace in the afternoon first thing." Piper said.

Annabeth and Hazel laughed lightly. "Of course you do." Annabeth said with a smile. "That's fine. I can meet you guys there at 2? Then we can go for happy hour after."

"Sounds good." Piper said.

"Take a left up here." Frank said. "No, wrong lane!" Jason swerved the car over, throwing everybody to one side. Annabeth hooked her foot under the seat to stay still, and tried not to think about dying.

"Sorry, guys." Jason said, his hands shaking slightly. "This is harder than I thought it would be."

"We're almost there." Frank said.

"Oh, thank gods!" Piper said, with an over exaggerated sense of enthusiasm. Jason just rolled his eyes, and shared a look with his fiancée. Annabeth had to admit it hurt sometimes, to see them. She had been happy once, with a guy. One she thought she could have spent the rest of her life with, despite them not being soulmates. It happened sometimes. You couldn't get married, but many people moved in with their significant other, becoming partners. You lived a normal life, generally. Luke had been her forever. She had been foolish, and she wouldn't let herself get caught up in love again.

They pulled into the parking garage underneath the apartment building, grabbing their bags, and lugging them up to the room. It was huge, with three bedrooms, a large dining table and living room, and a decent sized kitchen. The place had incredible views with the Big Ben and River Thames in plain sight. Piper and Jason claimed one room, Frank and Hazel disappeared into another, and Annabeth was left with the smallest one. It was almost midnight now, and even though it wasn't even eight in New York, the five of them slept soundly through the night, exhausted from the day of travel.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Percy**

 **Orphic – mysterious and entrancing**

It was already a rough morning. Percy's hair wouldn't stay down. He got up late, and was late to work. They should really give him a break, seven is way too early for a young twenty-five year old. On top of all this, he was hungover, and possibly still slightly drunk from the night before. His one night stand wouldn't wake up, so he had to leave her a note that said in the nicest way possible to leave as soon as she got up. He's not really sure why she's here anyway, other than the fact that Percy was still trying to get over his breakup. The brown headed girl wasn't his type. Actually, he didn't know her name, so it was hard to know what 'type' she was. Percy sighed, looked one more time in the mirror, straightened his tie, and headed out the door with a fresh cup of coffee in hand.

His Mercedes was waiting for him in his usual spot. Percy normally wouldn't buy something this flashy, but his dad had gotten it for him last year when Percy had been promoted to the CEO position of Olympus Architecture. He would never admit it, but Percy loved the car, whether he wanted to or not. His drive to work was stressful too, honking and weaving through London traffic. Every time he drove here, the countryside started to sound more and more appealing. About thirty minutes late, he arrived to work. He took the elevator up, and listened to the gross jazz music that played out of the speakers. As he walked onto his floor, the twenty-first, the secretary greeted him.

"Hi, Mr. Jackson." Pamela handed him a file, complete with the information he needed for the day. "Your new assistant, Audrey, came. Also, remember your starting your project with Ms. Annabeth Chase. She'll be here at ten, in Conference Room C."

"Great, thanks." He inwardly sighed. Assistants were annoying, and new ones were even more irritating. On top of that, he had totally forgotten Annabeth was going to be here today. She was not somebody he wanted to see. Their companies had been fighting since the beginning, and their parents had one of the most notorious business feuds going on in the nation. He pictured her in his head, a scrawny thing, probably dull brown hair, stick straight with brown eyes, and a lack of fashion sense. He almost laughed, but he was too nervous.

His new assistant was sitting on top of the desk, her legs crossed. Her dress was about three inches to short for work, and her makeup was done up like she was going dancing for the night.

"You must be Audrey?" He asked, though he knew the answer.

"Yes, a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jackson." She batted her eyelashes at him, in a failed attempt at flirting.

He handed her a stack of papers. "Can you file these, please? I also need my notes from my meeting yesterday, by ten."

She looked slightly annoyed that he hadn't returned the advancements, but she agreed anyway. "Of course, anything else?" Percy shook his head slightly, and opened the heavy wood door to his office, fingering his necklace which had oddly gotten warm today, but he didn't think much of it. His desk was a mess. Papers were spread everywhere. He had a pen holder, but no pens were in it. Most of them were on the floor. His file cabinet had papers poking out at every corner, and there were coffee stains on the carpet and the desk. If his dad ever came in here, he'd probably be fired, but it didn't bother him at the moment. He passed the morning with paperwork, occasionally picking up his phone and texting Grover and Leo about last night. Apparently, he had gotten more drunk than usual. They were concerned, but Percy wasn't. He wanted to feel numb. The thoughts of Rachel were too much. They passed behind his eyes all day long if he wasn't drunk or high. Her laughing on their first date. Her saying yes after he asked her to move in with him on that snowy December day. Then her banging that guy Adam in their bed just a couple weeks ago. The tears. And then her leaving, going to America for a "fresh start". Before he realized, it was 9:50.

"Do you have those notes I asked for?" Percy asked Audrey.

"Right here, Mr. Jackson." She said, her legs crossed and skirt hiked up. Percy just rolled his eyes.

"Thank you." He headed down to Conference Room C, where a few engineers and design consultants were gathered, ready to have their first joint meeting with Ms. Chase. His necklace had become almost unbearably hot now, but he didn't have time to think about it. The girl was probably just in his building, and he really had no desire to find her. He sat down, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to get the necklace to stop burning. He needed to focus. He opened his folder.

"Ms. Chase will be here in a few minutes." He said. "In the meantime, I drew up a preliminary location for where the home in London will go. I figured I'd choose the location here and-" His necklace burned. It felt like his skin was on fire. He dropped the folder he was holding.

"Mr. Jackson, are you all right?" A woman on his left asked, but he didn't hear. His necklace had popped off and laid on the table in front of him. His eyes were on a blonde, standing in the doorway, her black work bag spilled on the floor. Her necklace was in her hand, and her eyes were wide. People started muttering. They knew what had happened.

The blonde – Annabeth Chase – reached down and clumsily picked up her things. "I'm so sorry."

"No worries." Percy said smoothly. "Let's start, shall we." The other people there murmured, but they knew better than to say anything. If the two CEO's in the room weren't going to talk about it, then they weren't either. The meeting continued, but Percy barely remembered any of it. Sure, they talked about where the house would be, what the foundation would look like, what the house would be made out of. But Percy heard none of it. His eyes were focused on Annabeth. She had gorgeous blonde hair that hung in loose princess curls down to her waist. Her grey eyes were focused, alert, sparkling with excitement. And her body… gods it was perfect. Her tight blue work dress clung to her in all the right spots, accentuating her curves in a way that made Percy uncomfortable. Her heels were tall, but practical. She met his eyes a couple times, blushed, and they both looked away quickly. She was nothing like he had imagined. And yet, he wanted to run the other way. He knew he wasn't supposed too. This was supposed to be who he would marry, who he would spend the rest of his life with, but she was intimidating. She walked with an air of importance, and constantly interrupted him and his staff with 'better ideas'. She talked as if she owned the whole world, and she glared at just about everything he mentioned.

Soon, people had packed up their briefcases, and he was shaken out of his thoughts. People trickled out, until it was just he and Annabeth left.

"So," She started. "I'll see you tomorrow. 9 AM right? You're taking me to see that lot you want to put the house on." She slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Um, yeah, sure." He said nervously, running a hand through his jet black hair. He wasn't sure why he was so shaken up. It was a girl. He had been with plenty of hot girls before. "Listen, maybe we should talk or something. I mean, we're supposed to be soulmates, but I'm really not sure where to go from here…" He trailed off, noticing the look she was giving him. Her grey eyes bored into him.

She laughed coldly. "Don't worry, I don't even feel the need to interact with you besides this. We are in a business relationship. That's it." She turned on her heel and marched out, heels clacking on the floor.

Percy rolled his eyes, irritated. "Noted." Whatever he was supposed to feel for her, he didn't. She was a stuck-up brat from what he could tell. When he got back to his office, Aubrey was still there, as flirtatious as ever. With a hand on her thigh, he leaned down. "Let's get out of here." She nodded in agreement, and they went back to his apartment.

"Gods, Percy." Her mouth opened in an o, her pussy clenching against his. Percy drove into her until he reached his end, then collapsed next to her on the couch, unsatisfied. The girl made way too much noise and wasn't even that hot.

"Baby that was so great." She said, eyes closed. Percy rolled his eyes. All he could think about during their time was Rachel, and then, much to his dismay, Annabeth. She was hot after all, which was something he couldn't deny. "Again?" She asked.

"Um, no. I have work to finish up." He said without a second thought.

"Fine," She pouted. Audrey gathered up her clothes and changed quickly. She leaned down and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "Do this again soon, yeah?" She didn't wait for an answer before leaving. Percy sighed. He got up and got dressed, then poured himself a drink. His phone buzzed on the table.

 **Leo** : _Bro, you up for some drinks tonight? Thalia_ _said her brother and his friends are in town, so they're coming too._ Percy didn't have to think twice about saying no. He was exhausted, and anytime Thalia was involved, it meant a long night. He remembered his cousin saying something about her brother Jason coming to London, but Percy wasn't always the best listener.

 **Percy:** _Nah, dude I'm good tonight. Last night got a little crazy so I think I need to take a breather tonight._

 **Leo:** _Okay, if you change your mind we'll be at Heaven._ Fuck. That place alone made Percy want to change his mind. It was his favorite club in London, and after the day he had today he needed to blow off some steam, but he knew he should stay in tonight.

 **Percy:** _Sounds good._

Percy forced himself to get into bed at ten that night, the earliest he had been asleep since Rachel left. He was slightly bummed he was missing out on a fun night, but he welcomed the warmth of his bed. He fell asleep instantly, exhaustion taking over.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Annabeth**

 **Drapetomania – the overwhelming urge to run away**

Annabeth woke up with a pounding headache this morning. Last night came rushing back, making it even worse, and she ran to the bathroom throwing up twice. She barely remembered it, just flashes. Her first drink of the night, a vodka on the rocks. Grinding on that hot blonde guy, but then realizing he looked like Luke so she ditched him. Doing body shots with Piper and Hazel. Then coming home and trying to drown out the sounds of her roommates fucking right next to her. She tasted alcohol on her lips still, and had to squint as the harsh winter sunlight coming in the room worsened her migraine.

She checked her phone. 8:00. She was impressed that she was up this early after last night. Annabeth usually didn't party, but after her day yesterday, she felt like she had the right too. Besides, it was cool to meet Thalia's friends here. Grover and Leo seemed nice and they definitely knew how to have a good time. She dragged herself out of bed, and was about to see if her friends were up but thought better of it, not wanting to see the boys naked. She slipped into the shower, enjoying the warmth as the water seemed to give her aching body a long hug. The hot water woke her up slightly, but her eyes were still tinged read and her body ached. She pulled on plaid work pants, a tight silk black top, and a plaid blazer. Her mind wandered to yesterday, which brought unwelcome thoughts. Just her luck that her soulmate would be Percy Jackson. He was irritating, unfocused, messy and her biggest competitor. What made it worse is that he was extremely hot. His sea green eyes, ruffled jet black hair. His accent sounded like so gorgeous and it made her head spin. Gods, he was beautiful. She could tell his stomach was toned just by looking at him. She shook her head, and made some coffee. She couldn't think like that. A relationship between them was never going to happen, no matter what the necklaces said. She had just gotten out of one of the worst and best relationships with Luke. She wasn't going to get hurt again. Besides, her mother would most likely replace her as CEO if she started dating the Jackson boy.

Annabeth slipped on her sunglasses and black kitten heels, and went outside into the December sun. She was about to go outside and hail a taxi, but remembered she was in London and didn't want to embarrass herself by not knowing the right way to get one's attention, so she called an Uber. In ten minutes, she was at Jackson Architecture. She checked her watch. 8:50. Perfect, she was early, just how she liked it.

The elevator dinged, and she strutted past the office, earning many glances and whispers. They all knew what had happened, but none of them were going to bring it up. She walked past the slutty assistant, Audrey, who looked extra happy today which was weird, and didn't bother knocking before she went into Percy's office.

He gave her a short look, then went back to what he was doing. "You're early." He said.

"Yes, the earlier I am, the sooner I get to leave and not see you. Shall we go?" Annabeth asked, tapping her foot impatiently. He glanced at the sunglasses she still had on and smirked.

"Long night?" He asked. "How was the sex?"

Annabeth blushed. "I did not have sex, and I am not hungover." She took off her glasses to prove her point, but immediately regretted the decision, her head pounding.

"Mhmm, whatever you say. Hold on." He said, holding a finger up. Annabeth bit her tongue. He continued his paperwork, glancing at the clock every so often. When it reached nine, he stood up, stretched leisurely, and gestured towards the door. "Are you ready?" He asked, with a smirk. Annabeth was livid at this point, and was doing all she could not to scream at him. He sauntered over to the door, and held it open for her.

"After you." He said, with fake politeness in his voice.

"What a gentleman." Annabeth mocked, and walked out. She hit the elevator button, and crossed her arms, not saying a word. They reached his car, and got in. Annabeth made herself comfortable, as comfortable as she could be in Jackson's car.

"It's about a half hour drive. You can plug headphones or something in I don't mind." He said. Annabeth was silent. "Hello, Annabeth." He waved a hand childishly in front of her face.

Her head snapped towards him. "Let's start with Ms. Chase, then I'll see if you can have the honor of calling me Annabeth." She crossed her arms again and stared straight ahead.

"Okay, okay." He took a right on the busy downtown road, and they headed out. Annabeth tried to pay attention to where they were going, but Percy was distracting her. He kept turning up bad stations and singing along like she wasn't there. She knew it was purposely to annoy her, so she tried to make it look like it didn't bother her. After what felt like five hours, but was really only about an hour, they pulled into an empty lot.

Annabeth had to admit the place was gorgeous. It was almost two hundred acres, with the perfect backdrop of an English forest. She could imagine a huge white mansion here, with accents to make it fit in with nature. She smiled at the thought of being able to design that, when Percy rudely interrupted her.

"So, like what you see?" He smirked, his accent making her swoon. If he wasn't British, maybe she could get over him. She had always had a thing for guys with accents, as did every other American girl.

"It's nice." She put simply. "I'd grow a few more trees on the sides, and put in a more defined drive. The house should definitely be in the back of the property, hidden." She expected him to argue, but he just nodded.

"Want to walk around? It's beautiful." He said softly, but when she looked at him his expression hardened.

"Sure." She agreed. They spent the chilly morning walking the property. Percy had given her a sweatshirt from the back of his car, which she had been hesitant to take since it would look weird with her pants, and plus it was _Percy's,_ but she took it anyway, knowing she would be freezing if she didn't.

It was silent for most of the time, and the tension between them could be cut with a knife. They neared the back, where a small stream rushed through, breaking the silence.

"I think we should talk." Percy said. Annabeth just nodded. "I know our necklaces… broke, but I just don't think it's gonna work between us." He scratched his neck nervously and wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I agree. It would be unwise to enter into a relationship, considering our positions and the standings between our families." She said, trying her best to sound like the professional business woman she had been raised to be.

He looked relieved. "Good. You're not my type, anyway." He scoffed.

Annabeth stopped. "Not your type?" She laughed, but it wasn't warm. "Sorry, I didn't realize you had the right to categorize girls like that."

Percy just rolled his eyes and turned to face her. "And I didn't know you had the right to act like a bitch all the time."

The words hit close to home. Annabeth felt her face heat up out of anger. "Excuse me? You have absolutely no idea who I am. We met each other yesterday. Do not call me that again. Ever." She turned on a heel and stalked off walking directly towards the car.

"Hey!" Percy yelled after her. "We were talking!"

"Insulting. There's a difference." She yelled back not bothering to turn around and look. She knew she probably looked like a toddler throwing a fit right now, but she didn't care. He was insufferable. She could hear him running behind her, and soon he was at her side again.

"I knew you were going to be an issue. Talking over everybody in the meeting, talking over me!" Percy acted like that was the biggest crime, god forbid anybody ever challenged his architectural vision. "My dad was right, the Chase's are crazy." They had reached the car now, walking so fast to it they almost broke into a run.

"You're just annoyed because you finally met your match. Somebody finally told you off, and you can't deal with it because you're five." Annabeth shot back. She opened the shiny door, resisted the urge to scratch it with her long manicured nail and climbed in, sitting as far away from Percy as she could.

The drive back to Annabeth's apartment was loud. They screamed at each other the whole way and Annabeth's head pounded from both yelling and alcohol. She barely even remembered what the argument was about. All she knew is neither one of them was going to back down. Finally, they reached their destination.

"10:00." Percy said sharply. "Don't be late and bring a better attitude."

"Oh, don't worry." Annabeth said with a smirk. "I'll be early." She slammed the door, forgetting she was still wearing his stupid sweatshirt. All she wanted to do was get in bed, or hangout with her friends and just forget the whole thing ever happened.

Of course, the exact opposite happened. When she got inside, her friends sat at the table, huddled over something Annabeth couldn't see.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked, turning to the fridge to get out ingredients to make a smoothie. They were silent, so she turned slowly. "Guys?" She froze. Piper looked at her with disbelief, holding in her hand the small chain with a heart on it. Annabeth's soulmate necklace.

"What's this?" Piper asked, her voice quiet, like she didn't know what to make of the situation.

"When did this happen?" Hazel sounded betrayed.

Annabeth sank onto a barstool in the kitchen and felt tears spring to her eyes for the second time that day. "Yesterday morning."

"And you didn't think that this was an important piece of information to share?" Piper said, her voice cracking.

Annabeth couldn't look them in the eye. "I was going to tell you, I just… I didn't want to face the truth. Telling you guys makes it real."

"Makes what real?" Frank asked. Annabeth stayed quiet.

"Wait. Are you lesbian? Because it's totally okay if you are, I mean we support you and everything and we're-" Jason said, rambling now.

"No." She cut him off. "I'm not." She could feel the tears streaming down her face now, her body mentally and physically exhausted. Piper and Hazel looked as if they wanted to come comfort her, but they didn't know what to say which made Annabeth just cry more.

"Who is it." Piper said. It wasn't a question.

"Percy. Percy Jackson." Her voice was quiet, so much that she wasn't sure if they heard her, but in ten seconds Hazel and Piper were at her side.

"Baby," Piper stroked her hair, and they gave her a hug. Annabeth cried harder. "What happened?"

"I don't even know." Annabeth said. "I hate him, which isn't supposed to be possible, but I do. We've fought three times in the past two days. And I'm not even over Luke yet, which makes this ten times worse." She swallowed hard, trying to fight back more tears from spilling over.

"It's okay, shhh." Piper and Hazel comforted her, which she greatly accepted, but after a while, she felt weak. Annabeth hated being weak, so she forced herself to straighten up and brushed them off.

"I'm okay. I can deal. It's just a few months" She said, her voice vacant of emotion. Her tears had stopped but she wasn't sure if that was because she was done crying or she simply had no tears left to cry.

"Tell you what." Piper said. "Why don't you go take a nice hot shower, then we can all go do some therapy shopping. After that night we had last night, we need it." Hazel and Annabeth laughed.

"Thanks you guys." Annabeth smiled gratefully and both gave them a hug. "You guys are seriously the best friends ever."

"That's what we're here for." Hazel said with a soft smile. Annabeth gave them one last smile, and then slipped into the shower, trying to let the warm water wash away her troubles.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Annabeth**

 **Habromania - the delusion of happiness**

Annabeth had never been more grateful for her best friends then she was right now. They had spent the afternoon touring London, and she had almost forgotten her issues. Piper and Hazel ran around stores, picking out clothes for her to try on. Jason and Frank made jokes left and right making her laugh. These past few days had been a whirlwind of emotions, and none of them good. Right here, though, she felt loved. She felt like she belonged.

"Annabeth!" Her head turned and saw Piper squealing, holding a deep maroon v-neck jumpsuit with lace detailing on the chest. "This would look so so amazing on you. Try it on, please. I know it's not really your style, but I think you'd like this one." Piper looked at her hopefully, but Annabeth hesitated. They were in Zara and the place was packed since it was Friday afternoon.

"Come on, Beth. You really would look amazing." Hazel said with a warm smile.

"Okay, okay." Annabeth grabbed it and took it in the dressing room with the rest of the clothes they had picked out for her. Usually they all shared a dressing room to talk about the clothes, what they liked, what they didn't like, but Hazel and Piper had insisted this day was about her, so they weren't buying anything.

Shopping had never really been her thing, but today it was basically therapeutic. Spending money really did feel good sometimes. She tried on the striped white mini skirt first. It was cute. She threw it in the maybe pile. Next was a sheer white blouse. It was nice, but not her style so threw it in the no pile. She spent the next twenty minutes trying on everything from jeans and sweatshirts to mini dresses and heels. Eventually, she arrived at the jumpsuit. She almost didn't try it on. It really wasn't her at all, but Piper and Hazel had loved it so she did it for them.

Annabeth slipped on the garment, and caught her breath. It was gorgeous. Her blonde curls mixed beautifully with the color of the suit, and the silky fabric accentuated her curves. She loved it. Shaking her head and smiling, she put on her jeans and sweatshirt she had come in, and carried the clothes she had picked out out of the dressing room.

"Looks like you guys know me better than I know myself." She said with a small smile, and held up the outfit. "I'll buy it. I love it."

"Eek!" Piper gave a little jump of excitement. "Wear it when we go out tonight."

"Maybe." Annabeth said. They grabbed the boys from their spot on a bench, and headed out of the store after paying.

"Big Ben?" Frank asked. "It's a pretty short walk from here."

"Yeah, just let me put these bags in the car." Annabeth brought out the keys to their rental, and threw all ten of their bags in the trunk. It was a didn't take long to get to the tower and it was beautiful out. It was foggy and there was a slight drizzle, but she loved it. She trailed slightly behind, staring out at the River Thames lost in her thoughts.

 _Bitch._ Luke had called her that, right before he dumped her. It had been Annabeth's fault. She was absorbed in her work, and Luke had asked for her attention multiple times. She had put off date nights, movies, picnics all for an extra twenty dollars a day and her moms attention. If she had known how much she would have regretted that decision, she never would have done it.

 _3 months ago_

 _Annabeth closed the door softly. It was late, almost 10:30. She had stayed extra late tonight to try to finish up the designs for the new high rise she was building in Manhattan. She expected Luke to be in her bedroom, but he was on the couch instead, back turned. She thought he was asleep. Annabeth crept up behind him and put her arms around him, kissing the top of his head._

 _"_ _Hi." She whispered, but instead of Luke waking up and saying hi back, he just slowly removed her arms from his neck._

 _"_ _We need to talk." He said, his eyes glistening when he turned to look at her._

 _"_ _What? Luke, I'm sorry. I know things have been tight between us, but I'm focused on my job right now. I thought you understood that." She said, going to sit down next to him on the couch._

 _He shook his head. "I can't always be second. I've been second for two years now. It was always as soon as I get this promotion, after this building, but I never came first Annabeth. I never will. This isn't working. I'm sorry."_

 _"_ _Luke." She pleaded. "Please. I'll work on it, I promise." She grasped his hand, but he pulled away violently like he was afraid of her now._

 _"_ _No. I'm not the priority here, and I deserve to be with someone who I am number one too." He said._

 _"_ _Luke, I work hard. I make all the money. I pay for you to go to college. You're not even grateful." She snapped._

 _"_ _Gods, I don't know when you became this bitch. I don't even recognize you." He grabbed his suitcase. Tears sprang to Annabeth's eyes as she watched them stream from Luke's. "Goodbye." He shut the door, the sound hauntingly sharp. Annabeth choked out a sob and sank to the floor. She stripped off her blazer and threw it on the ground, then threw one of her heels angrily at the wall, leaving a dent. She cried for hours, thinking about his last words._ I don't know when you became this bitch. _She sobbed again, her blouse soaked with mascara stains._

Present

"Oh, wow." Hazel breathed. "It's beautiful. Annabeth, come take pictures!" Annabeth shook off her thoughts and blinked the tears out of her eyes, and dutifully took a picture of Hazel and Frank and then Jason and Piper and then her, Hazel and Piper posed in front of it.

They spent the rest of the day walking by the river. Hazel, Piper and her chatted about this and that, skirting around sensitive topics. The London Eye glittered in the distance, and the blue water rippled below them. Couples walked hand in hand, smiling and laughing. Children ran around, giggling with those innocent grins only kids could muster up. Annabeth smiled. It was a beautiful sight. Everybody was happy and content, and even the cold December days didn't deter the crowds. With a start, she realized it was only five days to Christmas.

"Guys," Annabeth said, interrupting whatever they were saying. "Christmas is on Wednesday."

"I know!" Piper said. "I was thinking no gifts this year. We could cook, watch some Christmas movies. This trip is kind of taking a toll on my wallet."

Frank nodded. "Yeah, I agree. We should just enjoy each other's company." He interlaced his fingers with Hazel and smiled down at her which earned him a blush. Annabeth laughed internally. She had always been so shy in public with him, even though they had been dating for about a year now.

"Jason, babe, you good with that?" Piper asked, looking up at him. They were almost back to the car now, just another few blocks.

"Yeah, sounds good." He said with a small nod.

"I'm fine with that." Annabeth said.

"Great." Piper smiled. "Let's head back, it's almost five."

"Who's up for happy hour?" Jason asked.

"Um, most definitely me." Annabeth said with a laugh.

"Of course." Hazel said. The five of them piled into their car, singing at the top of their lungs until they got back to the apartment.

The night passed uneventfully. They went to a bar called Beaufort, and had probably one too many drinks but it was worth it. Annabeth always had one rule when it came to a night out – well, two really. Never accept a drink, and never go home with somebody. She had always been overly worried about these kinds of things. Her friends made fun of her, but Annabeth truly believed it would save her life on day.

During this night, Annabeth had come to a decision. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe she was just purely exhausted, but she knew Percy and her were never going to be successful fighting. She decided that tomorrow, she was going to make an effort. She was going to put her pride aside and make an effort to get along, an effort to work hard tomorrow and get things done. Her career was about to be on the line if she didn't, and that was one thing Annabeth didn't want. She didn't know why she was even acting like this around him. _You're scared of falling for him._ Annabeth shook her head. She would never.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! Sorry, this is kind of late. I've decided I want to update every weekend, but I was in New York this weekend so I couldn't update. I realize I haven't really done an author's note, and I usually don't do them, but I've decided to try for this story. I have the next three or four chapters written, so updating shouldn't be a problem for the next month or so. Also, there will be more Percabeth in this chapter, and a lot in the seventh for those of you who have been waiting! Please review!**

Chapter 6

Percy

Alexithymia – the inability to express your feelings

Percy had the most low key morning of the month today. He got up at a reasonable time, a little before 8. He showered, and used his crazy coffee maker that he had set to play Z100 while it was making coffee. He was about to leave, when he realized he still had about fifteen minutes, so he turned on the news, poured his coffee into a mug instead of a to go cup, and sat down on the couch to answer some emails. For once, since Rachel had left, he felt in control.

He made it to the office at exactly 9:00, and was greeted by a chorus of good mornings and hello Mr. Jackson. His assistant, Audrey, was there already, and she looked expectant but Percy just took the file for today without a word. Percy expected Annabeth at 9:45, but she didn't show. He had cleaned up that morning, not knowing exactly why he cared. He had meetings in there all the time, but he had never given his messy office a second thought. It was 9:59 when she walked in, as professional and beautiful as ever. Her hair was tied up in an elegant bun today, and she had on a red pantsuit. She looked powerful, intimidating. Everything a CEO should look like.

"What?" She said, crossing her arms over her body, looking uncomfortable. He realized he had been staring.

"Nothing." He said. "I was expecting you earlier."

She shrugged. "I was trying to not be obnoxious. I want to say something, before we start. I don't want to fight. I can't deal with it every day. It's exhausting. It's also hurting our work ethic, and this project has a deadline. I'm not saying I want to pursue a relationship, or even a friendship. I guess… acquaintances, is what I want." She frowned a little, but her face changed so fast he almost missed it. "Now, I brought some plans. They're preliminary, of course, I wanted your opinion on a few things." She brought out her blueprints and settled into a chair opposite Percy. Percy tried not to gape. He was shocked, to say the least. Yesterday, he wasn't sure either of them could ever look at the other without yelling again, but here she was worried about work and wanting to make an effort. Percy started to realize just how much this job meant to her.

"Percy, are you even listening right now?" She sounded exasperated, and now that she was closer, he could see the bags under her eyes that she had sloppily covered up with concealer.

"Yes, sorry. You were saying?" He gestured towards her blueprints. She showed him her work, and he was impressed. She was a good architect, not that he would ever admit that out loud. They worked hard together for the next few hours, and Percy was surprised at how much he actually enjoyed it. Through all the fighting and issues, they made a good partnership. Their ideas complimented each other well, and Percy was even excited to think about working with her in the next few weeks.

Soon, it was way past noon, and Percy's stomach grumbled loudly. He grinned sheepishly, and she laughed. "Lunch?" He asked.

"Sure." She said, her voice soft, grey eyes swirling with an emotion he couldn't place. He walked her to the sushi place around the corner, and they sat down at a booth by a window overlooking the city. Annabeth looked out the window, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

"What?" He asked.

Annabeth shook her head slightly. "Nothing. I just love seeing people out here. Happy, with families and love. It reminds me of how content my friends are."

"You're not?" He asked.

She looked at him. "I am content, just in a… different way. I love work. My friends think I'm a workaholic." She laughed. "That's partly why they insisted on coming to this trip with me. They didn't want me to spend every moment in London working. That, and who wouldn't want to spend two months here." The waiter brought their water, and Percy took a large sip, realizing how he hadn't had anything other than coffee that morning.

"You're friends are here?" He asked. "I never knew you had friends." He said with a smirk.

Annabeth glared at him, but it was playful. "Yes, I have two best friends actually, Piper and Hazel. Their boyfriends came with too."

"Are they…" He gestured towards his neck, where his necklace no longer resided, but Annabeth got the idea anyway.

"Yeah. Piper and her fiancée found each other in high school, and Frank and Hazel in college." She said, a wistful look etched in her features.

"Lucky." Percy said, stirring his drink, not making eye contact with his partner. He had always been jealous of his friends for that. Leo had found Calypso in middle school, and Grover had found Juniper a few years ago at a Go Green club meeting. They were so happy. They were planning on having kids, a family, their dream jobs. A future. It hurt a lot sometimes to look at them. _You could be happy. She's sitting right in front of you._ No. Percy didn't even know if he wanted to open himself up ever again, and he definitely wasn't ready.

"So," Annabeth said, her fingers drumming the table. "What about you? Who are your friends?"

"Leo and Grover. They're my best friends. And I get along with their girlfriends, Calypso and Juniper pretty well. When Ra-" He stopped, mid-sentence. Stupid. Annabeth and he may have been getting along right now, but he was not talking about Rachel with her.

"Who?" Annabeth asked, her grey orbs serious and calculating."

"Nobody." Percy said quickly. Too quickly. Annabeth just nodded and thankfully didn't press the issue any further. The waiter came by, and asked what they wanted.

"I'll have the Red Dragon." Percy said, and passed him his menu.

"The Green Machine, please." Annabeth ordered.

"Would you like to add any fish, ma'am?" The waiter asked, scribbling notes on his paper.

"No, thank you." She said.

He gaped at her. "Who has sushi with no fish? That's like a crime." He said, then started to rip the straw wrapper to shreds like a child.

She rolled her eyes. "It is not 'like a crime'" She quoted, mockingly. "I'm a vegetarian."

Percy looked at her like she had dropped from the sky. "What? How? What about burgers and pizza and steak and basically every good food on this entire planet!"

She giggled, which sounded foreign coming from her mouth, but it made Percy's stomach churn. "I watched a video a few years ago about the way cows were slaughtered. I haven't been able to stomach the food since. Sometimes I cheat. I mean, burgers are pretty good." She smiled, a genuine one and their eyes locked. Grey on green. He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but the arrival of their food interrupted their stare. Percy coughed uncomfortably, and the blush that crept up on Annabeth's cheeks didn't go unnoticed. They ate in silence, but Percy wasn't sure if it was because the food was good or they didn't know what to say anymore.

The walk back was tense. Percy didn't know what to think. Or do. Annabeth infuriated him, but at the same time he found himself wanting to know more and more. They barely said two words to each other, and when they got back to his office, he could tell Annabeth was not happy. They worked for a few more hours, but Annabeth was cold and never said more than two words to Percy. Before long, she grabbed her bag and stood up.

"I'll work from home for the rest of today." Her voice was guarded.

"Annabeth, wait." He said, but he wasn't sure what he even wanted to say.

Annabeth tucked a stray curl behind her ear, and bit her lip, which caused a reaction he didn't want to admit in his gut. "Percy, its fine. I'll see you on Monday, okay." She left with a tense smile on her lips, and Percy ran his hands through his dark hair, sighing. He was about to go get some more coffee, when his phone buzzed.

 **Thalia:** _Hey, cuz, want to go out tonight? Leo, Grover, Calypso and Juniper are coming. I asked Nico but he hasn't responded._

 **Percy:** _Sure, when and where?_

 **Thalia:** _The usual, the Uber will be there at about 7. I wanted to ask my brother and his friends from New York to join us, if you're cool with it._

 **Percy:** _Yeah, sounds good. I'll see you soon._

Percy was glad for the chance to go hang out with his friends tonight. He needed something to get his mind off today. Besides, he hadn't hung out with Thalia and Nico as much as he had wanted to since they moved here, and he was interested in his fourth cousin, Jason. Thalia and Nico had moved to London from New York a few years ago, but Jason had stayed behind because he had found his soulmate. He hadn't known Thalia and Nico for very long, but the three of them were close. Their dad's, Zeus and Hades, were his dad's brothers which was partly why he had to take the job for Zeus.

He sat back at his desk and tried to focus. He started paperwork, then realized he was writing things on the wrong lines. He moved onto the Zeus project, but wasn't really in the mood since Annabeth left. He rubbed his eyes and closed them for a second to try and bring himself back to reality, but all he seemed to be able to think about was a certain grey-eyed girl.

Annabeth

Annabeth felt like running away and never looking back. She wished she had never met Percy. She wished she was in her office in New York, necklace still cold, walking down streets she knew like the back of her hand. She wished she could forget it all happened in the first place and most of all she wished she wasn't extremely, head over heels attracted to the idiot. It wasn't love and she was positive it would never be, but his eyes. And his body. Annabeth almost hit herself in the head, but then realized she was out in public.

Everything had been fine this morning. They worked well together, surprisingly well. Lunch was fun and she genuinely had enjoyed his company. Until they had stared at each other a moment too long and he had avoided talking to her like she was the plague after that.

Annabeth somehow made her way home, even though her head was spinning and she wasn't sure if she had walked or gotten a ride. Her friends were all there, the news channel playing on the TV in the background. Piper and Jason were cuddled on the couch together, and Frank and Hazel were in the kitchen cleaning up a little. She sat down in a chair and leaned back, closing her eyes and sighing. She reached up and pulled her hair out of its bun, the curls cascading over the black leather.

Hazel piped up. "Long day?" She took a few plates out of the dishwasher and stacked them in the cupboard.

"You could say that." Annabeth said, eyes still closed.

"We're going out tonight." Piper said, playing with Jason's hand. Usually their PDA didn't bother her, but today it really got to her. She had to resist the urge to wince or cry or scream at them. All Annabeth wanted was a nap.

Annabeth groaned. "No. I just want to get into bed with sweats and watch reality TV. I am not going out."

"I'm not taking no for an answer. Besides, Thalia invited us out. We have to go. We're meeting her cousins." Piper said. "It'll be fun." Annabeth sighed, clearly knowing she wasn't getting out of this one. Plus, she was glad to spend some time with Thalia. They were roommates and best friends at Columbia, and she was determined to spend as much time as possible with her this trip.

"Where are we going?" Annabeth asked. "Wait, I didn't even know she had cousins over here."

Frank shrugged. "She just said they were two boys, not any names."

"It's a restaurant called Departure. It's about a ten minute drive." Jason said. "You have about an hour to get ready."

Annabeth groaned again, then pushed herself out of the chair and headed for the shower.

"Wear your jumpsuit!" Piper said to her. Annabeth waved her off, but her lips curled upwards slightly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! I am so excited for this chapter, please enjoy!**

Chapter 7

Annabeth

"Hey, you almost ready?" Piper knocked on her bathroom door.

"Yeah, give me two seconds. You can call the Uber." Annabeth said, and ran one last swipe of mascara through her lashes. She flipped her hair, her curls loose and long for once. Even she had to admit that she looked good. Annabeth had tried today, though she didn't know why. She had thrown on some eyeshadow and her brows were filled. Her frizzy hair was under control, and her natural waves were glossy and full. She slipped on her black strappy four inch heels, and grabbed a leather jacket from the closet to throw on over her new jumpsuit. She gave herself one last look over with steely grey eyes, and strutted out of the bathroom.

Her friends were dressed and ready to go. Piper wore a black mini dress with strappy brown heels, and Hazel wore a long sleeve, white lace body-con dress.

"The Uber's here." Frank said. Jason held the door for the three girls as Piper whispered to Annabeth.

"Trying to get laid tonight?" She asked with a grin.

Annabeth shoved her playfully. "Hilarious."

"Just kidding. Kinda." Piper said, smiling. "You look good."

"Thanks." Annabeth said. "You too."

The ride was short, and they were dropped off in front of a towering white building. Annabeth had to marvel at the architecture, but her thoughts were short-lived as Hazel and Piper pulled her into the building.

"Annabeth!" Thalia and her friends were waiting in the lobby. She looked amazing, in a tight black dress, black shoes and intense black eyeliner, which was all just so Thalia, Annabeth had to choke back a laugh. Thalia pulled Annabeth into a bone-crushing hug, and Annabeth hugged her friend back with just as much strength. "It's been forever!" Thalia said as she pulled away.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's been like two days, but sure."

"I brought my cousins today. This is Nico, and…" Thalia's voice drained away as Annabeth stood in shock. Looking back at her were none other than Percy's sea green eyes.

"Annabeth?" He said, clearly just as surprised as she was. "You're the best friend Thalia's been going on about?"

Annabeth laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess." She could feel everybody's eyes on them, and Piper and Hazel hovered near, their presence comforting, but slightly overprotective. "Should we go eat?" She motioned to the elevators, trying to do anything to get the attention off of her and Percy.

She got in first, next to Percy in the back of the elevator. Chatter started up again, and with all the other people there it was easy for the two of them to be lost in the crowd. They rode all the way to the top floor, and Percy and Annabeth fell behind as their friends checked in for the reservation.

"Look, about today…" Percy trailed off, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, a habit of his Annabeth had picked up on.

"It's okay, really. Let's just forget about it." Annabeth said with a small smile.

"Okay." He said. They were silent for a few seconds, walking towards the huge private room they had rented out. Percy put a hand on her lower back tentatively. Annabeth shivered involuntarily, but kept walking. "You look nice." He leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Thank you." She said, not daring to make eye contact with him. She became hyper aware of everything. The slight shake of his hand on her back, the spill of a wine glass in the back of the restaurant, the smell of alcohol fresh on people's lips. They stepped into the room, and everybody else was already seated. Percy removed the hand from her back, and Annabeth immediately missed the warmth but then chastised herself for the thought. The only two seats left were right next to each other, and Percy pulled her chair out for her. They sat down, and conversation swirled around them, but all Annabeth could think about was Percy's knee pressed against hers, their legs almost touching. She shifted, her leg moving closer, and she felt Percy do the same. She dropped her hand under the table, and went to reach over, her hand almost grazing his –

"Annabeth! You have to try this drink." Piper squealed from next to her. Piper was on her left, and Nico was on Percy's right. Annabeth jolted her hand back, and Percy and she snapped their legs back in place. Nobody seemed to notice, and Piper showed her the drink menu, pointing out the Pomegranate Cosmo. She took Piper's advice, and they ordered drinks and a couple bottles of wine.

"So, how's work been going for you two?" Thalia asked, seated next to Piper.

Annabeth looked around, then realized she was talking to her and Percy. "It's okay." She said, her voice small.

"I'm sure my cousin's annoying you to no end." Thalia said with a smile.

"Hey!" Percy protested. "It's good, though. We already have a spot picked out for the first home."

Thalia nodded, then turned towards Jason and Frank and asked them something. Piper started talking to Leo, and Percy and Annabeth were left in silence again. Their drinks came, and they were told their preordered food would arrive in a few minutes. With so many people, the menu had to be fixed.

"Who's paying for this?" Annabeth asked out loud, but it was more of a thought.

"I am." He said. "I offered, at least. I'm sure Thalia will fight me on it."

Annabeth rolled her eyes with a smile. "I think Thalia fights everybody about everything."

"True." He said, with a drink of his wine. He shifted slightly, turning towards her. Their eyes locked again for the second time that day. "I want to know more about you." His voice was quiet, just a breath of a sound, and if Annabeth hadn't been so close, his voice would've been carried away.

"Really?" Annabeth breathed.

"Really." Percy said, his eyes locked on hers.

Annabeth took a small sip of her Cosmo. "And what, Jackson, would you like to know."

He shrugged slightly. "What about your family?"

Annabeth's eyes darkened, but she answered. "There's not much to say, really." This was not true. "I was raised by my mom with my brother Malcolm. We both have different dads. It was… competitive in the house. Since I was born, I've been competing for her attention, her title. I won, obviously, or I wouldn't be here. Malcolm and I have a good relationship, though. He never really wanted the company as much as I did, so it was easy for him to step aside." Percy's eyes were trained on hers the whole time, and were admittedly intimidating. Annabeth took a deep breath and continued. "I barely see my real dad. He married a kid when I was two, and they moved across the country to San Francisco. They had twins, Matthew and Bobby, so they're sweet, but I've only seen them a handful of times." She took a sip of water, her throat dry." What about you?"

Percy shrugged again, his expression nonchalant. "My dad's a dick, my mom's perfect. That's all there is to it."

Annabeth laughed breathily, the alcohol starting to get to her brain. "What's your mom like?"

"She's amazing." He said, his eyes lighting up slightly at talking about her. "She's a writer, and she lives on the outskirts of London with her husband Paul. She basically raised me on her own. I didn't meet my dad until I was twelve, when he came home and announced that I was his heir. On a lighter note, my mom makes the best blue chocolate chip cookies. They're famous in the neighborhood. I'll have to bring some for you to try."

Annabeth laughed again. "Blue?" She said and Percy chuckled, a lopsided grin that made Annabeth's stomach do flips appeared on his face.

"I've always had a thing for blue food. I think it's because I love the ocean." He said with a shy shrug.

"Well," Annabeth said. "I'd like to try these famous blue cookies." Annabeth gave a soft smile, which Percy returned. She reached for her drink, but realized it was empty.

"Wine?" Percy asked, holding up the bottle.

"Sure, thanks." He poured her glass full, and Annabeth took a delicate sip.

"Where'd you go to college?" She asked. They had turned so they were completely facing each other now, their legs intertwined, feet touching.

"University of London. I got my bachelors in business, and then got my MBA in grad school. Right after, I was my dad's assistant for a couple years, and then CEO. Where did you go?"

"Columbia." Annabeth said, sitting up a little straighter. She had always been proud of that accomplishment. It was one of the few things money didn't buy. Annabeth had gotten in all on her own. "I got my degree in architecture, and then I went back a few years later for my MBA when my mom wanted to make me CEO. That's actually where I met Thalia."

"Oh, yeah, I kinda forgot she went there. Were you two roommates?" By this point their food had come, and Annabeth was digging in to her fried rice and teriyaki chicken. Their friends chattered around them, oblivious to their conversation.

"Yeah, all four years. When I saw Thalia was my roommate, I thought I was going to hate her. I'm really not into the whole... black thing." She said for lack of better words, but luckily Percy laughed.

"Yeah, she's a little rough around the edges." Percy said.

"Yeah, she is, but she's also sweet and my best friend. We were pretty much inseparable throughout college." Annabeth took another sip of wine, finishing off the drink. Her mind was spinning now, and she was pretty sure she would tell Percy anything at this point.

Percy started to say something else, but Leo stood up. "A toast!" He yelled, obviously having had one too many drinks already. "To friendship." Annabeth smiled, and picked up her drink that she had refilled again. "And, how awesome I am." Everybody laughed, and raised their drinks. Cheers echoed around the table.

"Cheers." Percy clinked her drink with his, his eyes locked on hers.

"Cheers." She said softly. Not for the first time that night, Annabeth's eyes dropped to his lips, but before she could think about what she was doing, Piper interrupted.

"Annabeth! Do shots with me." Piper squealed. "Hazel, you too." She looked at Hazel who was seated across from them.

Annabeth just rolled her eyes, but didn't disagree. Her food was long gone, but the night wasn't over. Piper called over a round of shots for the whole table.

Annabeth threw her head back, and felt the strong liquid slide down her throat. She tried not to make a face. "Another." She said, setting it down on the table. More came, and soon she was four shots in and pretty much totally wasted by now. There were only four of them left drinking at this point; her, Percy, Thalia and Leo.

Annabeth slammed her shot glass down on the table, the fifth one the hardest so far.

"I'm done." Thalia laughed bubbily.

"Same." Leo said. "I have to be able to walk out of here. Annabeth turned towards Percy not willing to drop it. His eyes glinted mischievously.

"Well, Chase. Up for a challenge?" He asked, with a smirk.

"Of course." She said with a grin that she could only muster when she was this far gone. Another round was brought. Then another. Then another. Annabeth and Percy's friends were cheering and laughing. After the eighth one, Annabeth was pretty sure she wasn't going to be able to walk out of here. Another round was brought. Percy gulped it down, but Annabeth hesitated, then set it back on the table.

Percy smirked. "Done already?"

Annabeth laughed, her words slurring so much you could barely understand her. "If I take one more, I won't be able to walk out of here."

Percy grinned. "Well, shows over. I'm the winner, of course." Annabeth just rolled her eyes but smiled.

Percy

Calypso yawned from across the table. It was late, a little past midnight now, and the restaurant was shutting down. They had all had too much to drink, and even Percy, who was not a lightweight, was feeling tipsy.

"We should get going." Thalia said, and stood up. Everybody followed her lead, and started to grab their coats from the hook in the back. Annabeth stood, and immediately swayed, grabbing onto Percy's arm, the muscles rippling under her grip.

"Woah, there." He said with a smile. "Here." He grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and slipped it over her shoulders. She smiled gratefully up at him, and he put his hand back on her lower back again, but this time his hand was much surer.

Annabeth giggled, then put a hand over her mouth. Percy looked at her oddly, but his lips curled. "What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head fast with another giggle. "It's just weird how you're being nice to me. I mean, I like it. But it's weird. I thought you hated me and I didn't want you to hate me, and I want to be friends because sometimes you can be fun and-"

"Annabeth." Percy said gently, cutting her off. "You're rambling."

"Sorry." They had fallen so far behind their friends now that they didn't make it on the elevator with them.

"I want to be friends, too." He said

"Good." She rested her head on his shoulder, blonde curls splayed against his black jacket. The elevator dinged and they walked in, Percy calling an Uber during the ride.

When they got outside, Annabeth laughed, throwing her head back. The smooth skin on her neck was completely exposed, and Percy had to physically restrain himself from reaching out. "My friends left me." She said with another giggle.

Percy looked around, then sighed loudly. "Yes, they did." The Uber came, and they both got in.

"Annabeth, where are you staying?" He asked her.

"Hm?" Annabeth played with his hand, her head back to resting on his shoulder.

"Your hotel? Where is it?" He was quickly realizing this was a hopeless cause.

"I'm not staying in a hotel, silly." She laughed again, breathily.

"Annabeth. Come on, help me out. What's your address? I know you don't want to come home with me." He ran a hand through his hair again, exasperated.

"I live at an address." She said with an air of finality, like she knew everything. Which, usually she did, but right now she was being ridiculous.

"Hyde Park and 16th, please." Percy said, sighing again. He felt warm breath on his neck, and looked down realizing Annabeth had fallen asleep. He stroked her hair, and watched her shoulders rise and fall. She looked peaceful, for once, and as he watched the beautiful blonde sleep, he realized he was falling for her and he also realized he was totally, massively screwed.

 **! This has been written for about a month now, and I couldn't wait to share it with you guys. This is most definitely not the end of controversy for them, but they will start hanging out more now. Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Annabeth

Froward - habitually rebellious

The first thing Annabeth noticed when she woke up was her pounding, violent headache. A wave of nausea passed through her, but she forced it down. She stretched her body out, feeling the smooth dark blue silk sheets move with her. Wait, blue silk? She sat straight up, alarmed, and for the first time that morning, noticed she was not in her bed. The bedroom was huge with a bathroom and shower to her left, and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the skyline of London to her right. She realized she was still wearing her jumpsuit from last night, but her heels were sitting upright next to the bed, and her jacket was draped over a sitting chair, next to a huge men's t-shirt. She breathed a little. Fully clothed meant good. Nobody was in the bed next to her, and Annabeth pulled the covers off, shivering slightly at the cold air. She looked around for identifying pictures, but there were none.

Fighting back another urge to vomit, she stumbled over to the t-shirt, which she figured whoever she had come home with last night had laid out for her. She wandered over to the bathroom, washed her face, and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. Trying not to look at herself in the mirror, she slipped the t-shirt on over her head and walked out the bedroom door.

"Eggs?" A voice asked from the kitchen. Annabeth froze. That could not be who she thought it was.

"Percy?" She asked, timidly. Her hands started to pull nervously at the hem of the t-shirt that reached a little above mid-thigh.

"Well, yeah. How much do you remember?" He asked. She came around the corner and saw him in sweats and a t-shirt. His hair was a dark ebony mess and he looked like he just woke up. He stood with his back turned to her, scrambling eggs in a pan. She took a seat at the island and crossed her legs.

"Taking like two shots. That's it." She said, rubbing her temples.

Percy laughed, and set a cup of coffee in front of her. "Cream?" She shook her head.

"We didn't… you know." She took a sip of the strong caffeine and immediately felt better.

"No. I slept on the couch." He said and brought her a plate of eggs even though she had never said yes, but she dug in gratefully.

Annabeth let out a huge sigh of relief. "Good. But what happened?"

Percy shrugged. "We were talking, and missed the elevator with our friends. Yours were so drunk they either didn't notice you weren't with them, or didn't care. I couldn't get an address out of you, so I took you back here. I didn't know what else to do." He sat down across from her and started to eat.

"Oh." Annabeth blushed slightly as she took another bite. Who knows what she said or did last night. "Thank you."

Percy grinned, a lopsided one she hadn't seen before, and her stomach flipped. "Of course." They carried on light conversation throughout the rest of breakfast, and Annabeth had to admit it felt comfortable, right even.

She finished her last sip of coffee, and reached her hands over her head, popping her back. "I should probably be getting home. It's already 10:30. Besides, I have to go yell at them for leaving me." She said with a smile. Truthfully, she didn't really care all that much. Breakfast with Percy was considerably better than fifth-wheeling all day long, but she couldn't let him know that.

"At least take a shower first." He said, when she went to stand up. "No cab wants you in his car smelling like that." He said, biting back a laugh.

"Hey." She said, shoving him in the shoulder when she walked past. "You don't smell much better." She stopped in the doorway and turned to look at him.

He shrugged. "We could always shower together if you want." He said, completely expressionless.

"Percy!" Annabeth said, and she knew she was blushing more than a little. She grabbed something out of the purse that she was holding, which happened to be chap stick, and threw it at him.

He held up his hands in surrender. "Kidding, kidding." He said with a chuckle. Annabeth just rolled her eyes, and turned to go use his bathroom.

It was huge, something she hadn't realized an hour earlier. The shower was in the middle of the room, with the shower head attached to the ceiling in the middle of the glass structure. Annabeth stepped in, feeling pretty exposed, but she welcomed the warmth with open arms. As the water ran down her body, her thoughts wandered.

She remembered talking to him all night, and how her heart had raced at the ghost of a touch. Him whispering in her ear, her wishing he had done _more_ than that. But then she remembered how their companies hated each other and she was supposed to hate him and they were only working together for two months. Then there was the soulmate complication. She was supposed to fall for him, and Annabeth hated when people told her what to do, and that's what the necklaces felt like. Just another way for the government to control them. Percy was sweet, though, and before yesterday she had been able to pass him off as another hot guy, but then last night… he had wanted to get to know her. He slept on the couch, so she could have the bed. He made her eggs and coffee and had asked her how she slept. That wasn't something you did if you didn't care. Her thoughts ran a million miles an hour, somehow all of them relating back to her complicated relationship with Percy.

She hadn't even noticed the water turn cold, but luckily she had been showering without noticing. Her hair was clean and she smelled like the ocean scented body wash that was in the shower. She towel dried her hair, then put her jumpsuit back on. She couldn't take a cab with a t-shirt on.

Annabeth returned to the living room and gathered her things, appreciating the view. The windows in the place were all floor to ceiling, and the London skyline was glittering in the morning sunshine. Percy's apartment took up the majority, if not all of the top floor of whatever building they were in. Percy sat in a bar stool, typing away on his phone.

"Hey." He smiled at her. "I'll call you an Uber."

"Oh, no, I can call my own." Annabeth shook her head and pulled out her phone.

Percy touched her wrist. "Don't worry about it." He hit something on his phone, then grinned cheekily. "See, too late."

Annabeth blushed. "Thanks."

"You have everything?" Percy asked as he walked her to the door.

"Yeah, I'm all good." She said with a small smile.

"Okay. If you left anything I'll bring it to work on Monday."

"Sounds good. I'll see you later." She said. Percy opened the door and Annabeth gave him a small smile before walking out.

"Annabeth, wait." He said. His eyes wouldn't meet hers. "I… I had a good time last night. With you."

Annabeth smiled, wide. "Me too. Bye, Percy." She gave a small wave, which he returned and pressed the down button on the elevator.

"Annabeth! Where were you?" Piper was sitting with her head down when Annabeth got home, but sat up immediately.

"Oh thank gods, we were so worried." Hazel said, coming out of her room and giving Annabeth a hug.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but returned the hug. "Well, we wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't _left_ me outside the restaurant.

Jason snorted from the living room and Frank looked like he was trying not to laugh. "We're sorry!" Piper squealed.

Annabeth went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. "It's okay, I should have sent you guys a text this morning."

"So," Hazel started, her eyes smiling. She clasped her hands and leaned over the island. "Who did you spend last night with, Annabeth?"

"I told you you were gonna get laid." Piper said with a giggle.

Annabeth blushed. "I did not have sex. Percy couldn't get an address out of me last night, so he took me back to his place."

Piper squealed. "For real?"

"Yes, but nothing happened." Annabeth said with a glare.

"Really." Hazel said.

"Annabeth finally got some last night?" Jason asked with a smirk, reaching around Annabeth to grab a coffee mug. Frank walked in and sat next to Hazel at the island.

"No, I didn't. Gods, just because a guy is nice enough to take me home doesn't mean we have to have sex." Annabeth said with an eyeroll.

"But… Percy is pretty hot." Piper said.

"Please." Annabeth said. "I can't stand him." She was lying to them, but the last thing she needed were her friends bothering her about Percy right now. She needed to figure out her feelings on her own, without Piper and Hazel's input.

"Mhmm." Piper said, sipping her coffee. They were silent for a few seconds, when Annabeth's phone rang.

"Ugh, my mom. I'll be back." Annabeth slid her thumb over the answer button and walked into her room for some privacy. "Mother.

"Annabeth. How is London?" She asked, but it was clear this call wasn't to check in with her daughter. Annabeth wasn't sure Athena was capable of that kind of love.

"Fine. What do you need?" Annabeth went straight to the point.

"I've had an idea. I've been thinking about how we could use this… business deal to our advantage."

"Yes?" Annabeth was worried. Her mother rarely ever had an idea she agreed with.

"I want to take down Jackson Architecture. For good. Then, I want to take our company international." Her mother announced. Annabeth almost choked.

"Excuse me?" Her voice was tense.

"You heard me. I've made a plan, which you are of course very involved in. My first step, I want you to take-" Annabeth cut her mother off.

"Are you crazy? Absolutely not!"

"Annabeth, don't be ridiculous. I didn't raise you to be a business mogul for nothing. This is just part of the life. Now,"

"No. No no no. You are insane. I would never." Annabeth shook her head, pacing her room back and forth. Her mother had officially gone completely insane.

"Just listen to me. Their finances, if we can tap into those, change a few numbers… If you won't do this, I'll have to resort to other resources to help you along." Athena threatened. Blackmail. Annabeth couldn't even imagine the things Athena would pull out of thin air to make her behave.

"Look, the international I can get behind. But never in a million years would I betray Percy like that." Annabeth said firmly.

"Interesting. I did hear a rumor about your necklace, but I figured you could deal with it on your own. Clearly, your heart is taking over. I guess I'll have to fix that too." Athena mused.

"Fix? Are you kidding?" Annabeth exploded. "Mother, I honestly feel bad for you that you weren't born with a heart. This is absolutely ridiculous. It has nothing to do with Percy or Jackson Architecture. It's about being a good person."

"Annabeth, don't make me do this." Athena sighed. Annabeth dug her fingernails into her hand, leaving her skin raw.

"Do what?"

"How do you think the world would react if they knew you had had a sexual relationship outside of your soulmate? What a scandal that would be."

"You wouldn't. You wouldn't dare. It would ruin your image, not just mine." Annabeth was seething. Dating another person besides your soulmate was accepted, but being intimate with them was not. Most people ignored these rules, but it was not talked about, and if it ever came out that Annabeth wasn't a virgin her world would be sent into a tailspin.

"Maybe so, but I have faith that you'll deliver. It won't take long. Just download the info from their CFO's computer, and I'll have the rest taken care of." Athena sounded so nonchalant, she could have been painting her nails right now. Athena's calmness had been something she had always envied when she was a child, but now Annabeth realized it just came from Athena's insane ability to just not give two fucks about whatever life she was ruining at the moment. That quality had made her one of the world's strongest businesswomen, but it had also made her life miserable.

"We'll see." Annabeth said, and her voice was so razor sharp she scared herself. She hung up before her mother could respond, but she knew what she had to do. Her reputation could not be diminished.

"Want to grab some lunch?" Percy's hair was tousled and the sun shining through the window made him look like some sort of greek god. It was Annabeth's first day back at work after her mother's phone call and her insides were mush.

"No, I have to run a quick errand, but maybe tomorrow." Annabeth said, twirling a curl in her hand.

"You sure?"

Annabeth nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Okay. Are you okay? You've been quiet the whole day. I just… This isn't about Friday night is it? I'm sorry, I should have tried harder to get you home, I-" Percy rambled. Annabeth felt terrible.

"Gods, no, I had a great time. My mom's stressing me out. It'll be okay." She said, and tried to muster a smile for him. His eyes stared into hers, concerned, but he stood up and slipped on his jacket.

"Okay. I'm gonna go grab some coffee. Do you want your latte?" He asked.

Annabeth smiled, a real one this time. "Yeah, thanks."

"Okay." He started out the door, but turned around at the last second. "Annabeth?"

"Mhmm." She said, not looking up from a paper she was signing.

"I-I'm here, if you need to talk." His voice shook.

Annabeth turned in her chair, a little shocked but grateful nonetheless. "Thanks, Percy. I'll see you in half an hour." He nodded and headed out the door.

The door slammed shut and Annabeth immediately took a deep breath. "Okay." She said to herself. "Okay, you can do this. He'll never know it's you." Great, now she was going crazy. She walked around the table and slipped the drive into the computer. A downloading symbol popped up. Annabeth kept one eye on the door and one on the computer. It felt like hours, but Annabeth figured it was about five minutes before it went to 99%... 100%. And, just like that, with a swift move of her hand and heels clicking as she walked out of the office as if nothing had happened, Annabeth had started something so huge she wouldn't even believe it was true when it came to pass.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Percy

Percy's Friday started off like any other Friday. Woke up a little too late, made coffee but it spilled so he had to stop at Starbucks, and ran into the office one minute late. In other words, it was pretty good by his standards. Christmas had passed on Wednesday, and Percy had just spent it with his mom and Paul. He had only taken one day off, since work was so busy right now. Annabeth arrived an hour after him, like she always did, right on the dot. Her weird mood had subsided, and she was almost back to being her normal self. He was worried that their night together last weekend had scared her off, which was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

She walked in, as beautiful and powerful as ever in a dark green dress with heels. Lately, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. He had realized this week he hadn't thought of Rachel at all. His thoughts had been completely Annabeth. If they weren't together, he thought constantly about what she was doing. Was she out for drinks, was she shopping with friends, was she cooking dinner at home. What was she wearing, was she asleep yet. It was constant and it was exhausting. He wanted to tell her how he felt, so bad, but she had been very distant this week and he couldn't stand it. He couldn't help but think he did something wrong.

"Hi." She said, sinking down into the chair across from him and leaning her head back, her neck exposed. Percy bit his lip and resisted the urge to go over there and kiss her porcelain skin.

"Hey. Long morning?" Percy asked.

She sat up. "Like you wouldn't believe. Coffee machine broke, eggs were runny, toast was burnt. Horrible." She said with a smile. She held up her Starbucks cup. "I had to go with burnt coffee."

Percy laughed. "Yeah, same. Fridays are the best but also the worst."

"Yes, they are." She agreed. "Should we get to work?" He nodded, and they started their day. They had broke construction on the house yesterday, and so far so good, yet there were always issues. They grabbed lunch together at a local bar that had the best burger around town, and Percy found out Annabeth could down a burger just like everybody could, and Percy then found himself even more attracted to her if that was possible.

It was around five when he got the call.

"My dad." He said to Annabeth, and stepped out of the office.

"What's up?" He asked.

"We have an issue." Poseidon said, his voice serious.

"Hm." Percy wasn't too worried. Poseidon was a dramatic guy, and usually his issues were his yacht was broken, or his private plane wasn't running that day.

"Somebody hacked our computers."

"What?" Percy said, alert now.

"An IT guy said he was doing checks this morning, and found a breach." His dad's voice was tense.

"You're kidding."

"I wish." Poseidon said. "And, Percy, it came from your computer. From our financial section."

"But who…" Percy trailed off. "Who has access? I lock my door, and nobody's been alone in their except… No. She wouldn't."

"Annabeth Chase?"

"Dad, no. We-we're friends, I think." Percy said, his voice shaky.

"You do know who her mother is." Poseidon posed it as a statement, not a question.

"Yeah, but…" Percy didn't know what to say. His mind was fuzzy. He felt hot with anger, and he slid his back down the wall, sitting on the floor with spots swimming in front of his eyes. _No._ It couldn't be her. "I gotta go."

"Percy-" His dad started, but Percy hung up. His ears rung, and people walked by, conversation surrounded him, but he couldn't hear a word. He felt dizzy. He had never felt more betrayed in his life. Not even with Rachel. Feelings were… loose. He could get over those, or how Rachel had lost feelings for him, found feelings for someone else. At this point, it was a whatever. But to blatantly try to take down someone's company. He couldn't even imagine. He clenched his fists and tried to calm down. His assistant, Audrey, came over and asked if he was okay, but he brushed her off. He couldn't think straight, but before he knew what he was doing, he got up and stormed into his office.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He asked, slamming the door shut. Annabeth jumped in her seat, but she didn't turn to face him. She just kept drawing in the fountain, like nothing was wrong.

"What?" She asked, pencil flying. Her blonde hair was glowing in the dusk night sky, but it no longer looked enticing.

"You know what." He said, grabbing the pencil out of her hand. "How could you do this, to this company, to my family, to-to me?" He asked, pulling her up roughly.

"Percy!" She said, straightening her skirt. "What is wrong?"

"Does taking information off my computer without me knowing ring a bell?" He snarled. Her eyes widened and she turned bright red.

"I didn't-but." She stuttered.

"You didn't what, Annabeth." He spit. "Tell me that you didn't do this. Please. That's all I want to hear." They were nose to nose now, and tears started spilling down her cheeks. She didn't say a word.

"That's what I thought." He turned away from her and pinched his nose. He could hear her sobbing behind him, but if he turned around all he would want to do is hug her, stroke her blonde curls and tell her it was all going to be okay. Somehow he was extremely mad and wildly attracted to her all at the same time.

"Percy, I-"

"Just stop, Annabeth." His voice was softer now, but he didn't know if it was because he was feeling sorry for her or if he was just simply tired of yelling. He turned back around to face her.

"Will you listen?" She shouted in his face. "I didn't do anything with it. My mom called over the weekend, after…" Annabeth trailed off, but Percy knew what she was talking about. Friday night. "She asked me to steal your financials, so she could change some things, and make it look like your dad was stealing from the company. I did it, but as soon as I got home I threw the drive in the garbage. I couldn't bring myself to go through with it. I sent my mom a blank one when I couldn't put it off any longer. I'm sure I'll get a beating when she learns its fake, but I couldn't do it. I'm so sorry." She was crying again, and she sank down into her chair, putting her head in her hands.

"You didn't do anything with it?" He asked. Annabeth shook her head silently. "You still snuck in here. How could you even consider?" He started to pace his office, her sobs racking her body.

"I don't know. Percy I'm so sorry." She sat up and faced him, her voice quiet. "Please, I'll do anything, I'm just… I'm so sorry."

"I don't even know what to say." Percy shook his head, his feelings an absolute mess. "Just leave. Please."

"Percy." She pleaded, but stood up and grabbed her purse.

"I just need time to think. I'll see you on Monday, normal time." He walked over to the door and pulled it open for her.

"Okay." She sniffled and straightened her dress, trying desperately to make it look like she hadn't been crying ten seconds ago. Annabeth looked him straight in the eye. "I'm so sorry."

-0-

Percy was a wreck. The last time he had felt like this was when Rachel left him, but she was far from his mind now. He had gone home right after Annabeth left. The office had given him quite a few stares, but he couldn't focus on them. He was sure he had looked like a complete dick in their eyes. Grover and Leo had been calling him all weekend long. Even Thalia had called to check in, which meant Percy must have really been acting depressed. She rarely ever cared. It was Sunday afternoon, and Percy hadn't gotten out of bed since Friday evening, except to eat poptarts and coffee, and occasionally use the bathroom. He had to do something today, or he would go crazy, but seeing his friends would just make him wish he was with Annabeth. Of course, that was impossible, because he was mad at her and they could never be friends because she had betrayed all of his trust. So, he did what any sensible twenty five year old man would do. He called his mom.

Sally and Paul were sitting in their kitchen and the smell of his favorite blue cookies drifted throughout the house.

"Hey." He called out as he kicked off his shoes. His mom smiled, her blue eyes sparkling. His mom was his favorite person in the whole world. She gave the best hugs, made all his favorite foods and smelled like home. She had sacrificed so much for him, and seeing her so happy here in the London suburbs with Paul, was enough to make Percy break out in a smile.

"Hi!" She said, giving him a huge hug even though Percy was a good six inches taller than her.

"Hi mom."

"Percy, you look and smell awful." She frowned, and ushered him over to a seat in their kitchen. "What happened?"

Percy leaned over and grabbed two cookies, ate them in two bites, and told her and Paul the whole story. He started with their necklaces, then lunch that first week, then dinner with their friends, then her betraying him. He talked for almost an hour, but it felt so good to get it out that he didn't even notice. Both of them sat there listening patiently as Percy ate all twelve cookies. He made a mental note to hit the gym tonight.

"Well." His mom said. "That is quite a story."

"I don't know what to do." Percy moaned, reaching for another cookie, but there weren't any left.

"Did she seem genuinely sorry?" Sally asked.

"Yeah. I just don't know how to get over that. I mean, she didn't turn it over, but still."

"Percy, you need to follow your heart." She said.

"That's the thing- I don't know where my heart is going. One minute, she's laughing and her eyes are sparkling and we're have a great time together, and the next she's stabbing me in the back."

Sally sighed, wiping her hands on her apron. "Percy, there is a difference between stabbing someone in the back and being told to do something, than not following through with it. I understand this is something that's going to take a little while to get over, but people deserve second chances. Annabeth deserves a second chance."

"Maybe." Percy said sullenly, pulling on the napkin.

"You're mother's right." Paul piped up. "If the roles were reversed wouldn't you want her to forgive you?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I would." Percy sighed. "I gotta get going. I need to shower and catch up on some work before tomorrow."

"Okay." Sally came over and gave him another hug. "I know you'll do the right thing, Percy."

"Thanks." Percy said. He gave Paul a hug, and showed himself out.

-0-

Annabeth

Annabeth had sat in bed all weekend long, feeling sorry for herself. She had brought two tubs of ice cream in here, a bottle of vodka and was watching Friends reruns. It was a well-deserved pity party. Admittedly, this was all her fault. She should have just told her mother no, but the thought of those pictures getting out… she involuntarily shivered and pulled herself deeper under the covers. Who even knows how her mother got those. Annabeth wasn't sure she even wanted to know.

She hadn't thought about Luke all week. She had come to the realization that yes, she had a crush on Percy. A huge one. Gods, she sounded like she was back in middle school. She definitely _felt_ like it. Percy with his beautiful sea green eyes, his soft hair, his goofy grins, his childish humor that became more and more endearing everyday she saw him.

Piper and Hazel had mostly left her alone, but she could tell they were worried about her. The three of them weren't really that big on self-pity anyway, so Annabeth knew they would come in here eventually and pull the plug on her party.

She was halfway through her twenty-eighth episode of Friends when Piper walked in and unplugged the TV.

"Hey!" Annabeth complained, but didn't have the strength to go fix it. She leaned back on the pillows and closed her eyes, trying to pretend they weren't there.

"Annabeth." Hazel started, the two of them laying down next to her. "You've gotta talk."

"We're gonna listen to whatever fucked up story you have to tell, and then we'll give you awesome advice because we are your awesome best friends." Piper said, turning her head so she was smiling at Annabeth.

Annabeth laughed vacantly, but told them her story anyway. They were good listeners, not saying a word until she was done. She told them all about her feelings for Percy, how she finally thought she was over Luke, what her mom had threatened her with. She was crying by the time she finished, and the three of them were a hugging, crying mess.

"You have to apologize." Piper said.

"Like a huge gesture." Hazel added. "Flowers, a card, dinner, everything."

"Maybe. Percy's not like that though. I mean, words mean more than actions to him." Annabeth closed her eyes and rested her head back on the pillows again.

"Well, you have to do something." Piper said, and Hazel nodded. Hazel pulled out her phone.

"Here, we'll make a list of ideas." Hazel said, and Annabeth laughed.

"Okay." She said opening her eyes, but before they started, Jason knocked.

"Hey." He said opening the door. "I think you guys should come see this."

What Annabeth saw on the TV made her blood freeze.

There, for the whole world to see was her naked body through the window of her penthouse in New York, with Luke under her.

"No way." Piper said, her hands covering her mouth.

"She really did it." Annabeth whispered, eyes watering. She could feel Piper and Hazel wrapping their arms around her, but Annabeth didn't register anything. She fell to the ground, and passed out.

-0-

Percy

Across town, in his beautiful penthouse, Percy was watching the same news channel when the segment about Annabeth came on. His jaw dropped, his eyes widened and a sudden realization came to him. These pictures were the reason Annabeth did this. Somebody had blackmailed her.


	10. Chapter 10

**10 chapters! I am super excited for these next few, and I hope you guys love them. Review!**

Annabeth

 **Basorexia - the overwhelming desire to kiss someone**

Annabeth had made the executive decision to not go to work today and face the humiliation of how everybody saw her tits. Well, they had been blurred out. Still. She had called Percy to tell him she was sick, but he hadn't picked up, which made her feel even worse. Her naked pictures were all over the internet, her mom was a crazy psycho bitch, and Percy was still mad at her. The thought crossed her mind that maybe he was just busy, but she was a pessimistic person so she didn't think too much about the latter option.

Her friends didn't push her. They didn't leave either, which was nice, but Annabeth honestly just needed some alone time right now. She hated this. She felt so claustrophobic, like no matter what she did, she could never just breathe.

It was around ten when she finally rolled out of bed and stumbled into their living room. The floor plan was open, so you could see the kitchen and dining room from where she stood.

"Hi!" Piper said, jumping up from the couch. "Do you need anything? We made French toast."

"No, I'm good." Annabeth said, giving her a smile, but a vacant one. Frank moved to the side a little, making room for her on the couch. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she was wearing grey sweatpants with a black tank top. In other words, she looked gross.

Say Yes to the Dress was on, and Annabeth usually loved binge-watching that show, but her heart wasn't in to it. She closed her eyes and leaned back, focusing on the little noises that rummaged around the apartment.

The gentle clack of dishes that Jason was putting away, a soft stream of water always on. Hazel leaning over the dining room table doing the puzzle Annabeth had put out the other day. Piper tapping her fingers on the side table by the couch. She took a deep breath, trying to get air into her lungs. This whole morning, she had felt as if she couldn't breathe, which was stupid. She was here, alive. But it didn't matter when nothing about her life felt right at the moment.

The knock on the door was loud, piercing through the quiet comfort Annabeth had found in their little apartment.

"Are we expecting somebody?" Jason asked, shutting off the water.

"I don't think so." Hazel said, looking up from the puzzle.

"I'll get it." Piper offered. Annabeth hadn't even opened her eyes, but she could hear the pad of Piper's bare feet on the hardwood floor.

"Hi." Piper's voice echoed through the hallway. "Who are you?"

A man cleared his throat. "Um-" Oh shit. Annabeth recognized that voice. She shot up, desperately trying to make herself look more presentable, but it was a lost cause. "Percy Jackson."

"Oh! Of course, how silly of me. I knew I recognized you. Come in, come in." Piper said. Was she trying to make Annabeth's life worse? The guy who hates her and she has the hugest crush on was going to see her in her sweatpants that she got freshman year of high school. Great.

"Hi, Annabeth?" He asked. She turned to look at him. He was dressed in a suit with that blue tie she loved, and he was holding a dozen red roses and a brown paper bag. "These are for you." He said quietly, eyes flitting around the room as if noticing for the first time how many people were watching them.

"Guys…" Annabeth trailed off.

"Oh, right!" Hazel said. "We were going to go to brunch."

"We just had French toast." Frank pointed out, oblivious.

"Brunch!" Piper said, grabbing a coat. "Text if you need anything, A." Annabeth nodded, but her eyes never left Percy's. The door closed behind them, and it was silent.

"I don't deserve those." She whispered, sitting down at the dining table.

"Of course you do." He said. "I was a complete dick the other day. I could have handled it so much better. I was angry, but you never ever deserve to be treated like that. Then I saw those pictures, and I realized why you had-"

"So you're here because you feel bad for me. Is this what this is? A pity party?" Annabeth hated how she could never accept an apology. Her temper was so horrible sometimes. It was one of her favorite and least favorite parts about herself.

"What? No!" Percy said, his green eyes swirling with hurt. Annabeth's heart fell and jumped at the same time. Here he was, bringing her roses – red roses – after she had fucked up. Her mind raced a million miles an hour and she had the sudden urge to kiss him. "Here. Take them, please." He held out the roses again, and Annabeth took them with a small smile. She stood up and went to find a vase in the kitchen.

"I brought bagels, too. London bagels probably aren't as good as New York's but I figured everybody likes bagels." He rambled. Annabeth cut the ends off so they'd fit in the one vase the apartment was stocked with.

"I like bagels, Percy." She said with a laugh. A real one, which hadn't happened all weekend.

"Okay, good." He breathed. Annabeth grabbed two plates from the kitchen, along with the roses and settled back down at the table. They sat next to each other silently, facing the huge windows that looked out on the gloomy London skyline. The rain had been coming down hard the past few days, but it matched Annabeth's mood so she was okay with it.

He had gotten her a sesame bagel with scallion cream cheese. She wondered how he had taken such a lucky guess. It was her favorite combo.

"How did you know?" She asked, brushing her fingers off once she was done picking at the bagel. All that was left of their food was crumbs and sesame seeds.

"Know what?" He asked, turning to look at her. It struck her how… beautiful he was. There was really no other way to describe him.

"This is my favorite."

He laughed. "I just got you what I always get. I figured it wasn't too offending."

Annabeth chuckled. "Well, you have good taste." They were quiet for another few seconds, before she spoke up. "Listen, I am so sorry about what happened. I'll do anything to make it up to you."

"Anything?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, seriously."

"Well, for starters you can go check on the building today and deal with the carpenter." Percy laughed slightly, and Annabeth gave him a shove.

"And?" She prompted.

"You can go on a date with me." He shrugged nonchalantly, but his eyes betrayed him. He was nervous.

Annabeth almost threw up her bagel. "What?"

"You asked, what you could do. Go to dinner with me." His green eyes shone with hope.

Annabeth smiled. "Okay." She grinned, but her smile fell. "Our parents, our job, Percy everything's so complicated right now."

"I know." He said, grabbing her hand making butterflies rush into Annabeth's stomach. "What's not complicated though, is my feelings for you." Annabeth thought she was going to pass out. "We'll cross those bridges when we come to them."

She gave his hand a squeeze. "Yeah, okay." She said breathlessly. She felt like she had just run three miles, her breathing was so shallow. Yet it was a good feeling. She was happy.

"Good. Friday at 8 then, I'll pick you up. In the meantime, we have a lot of work to do. I brought it with, but if you want to get out of the house we could go back to the office." He suggested.

"Office. I need to get out of here. Just let me change." She said, standing up and pulling her hair out of her bun. "On second thought, maybe I should shower."

Percy laughed. "You look beautiful either way." The accent made the compliment all the more exciting.

Annabeth blushed. "To you, maybe. My hair is disgusting. I'll be right out." Annabeth tried to hurry, but getting ready for work was usually an hour long exercise. She got it down to thirty minutes, and came back out dressed in black plaid pants and a black silk blouse. Her hair was loose, since she hadn't had the time to do a bun, and her makeup was minimal. She felt giddy. Percy wasn't mad, he wanted to take her out to dinner. Just the two of them. A date. She hadn't been this excited since Luke, but thoughts of him were far from her mind now.

Percy was on the couch now, texting on his phone. He looked up when she came out of her room. "You ready?" She nodded in response, and he opened the door for her. His Mercedes was waiting – he had somehow found a parking spot right outside their building. She almost laughed thinking about where they were just a couple weeks ago. She was very glad she hadn't dug her fingernail into his car that day.

-0-

Maybe the necklaces were right.

Annabeth hadn't thought about hers for a while, probably about a week now, but she realized her and Percy were literally meant to be. She had always believed that they were stupid, they didn't work, how could the government know people's feelings? But Percy made her ditch all those beliefs. Everything between them felt right. They made each other laugh, their personalities balanced each other perfectly. The thought even crossed her mind that they would make cute babies, but she instantly put it out of her head. They hadn't even kissed.

It was almost five now, and Annabeth didn't want to leave. Unfortunately, Percy already had plans with his friends. He had invited her to come with, but Annabeth declined. She didn't want to impose, and besides, she already had plans with her own friends.

They had moved on to the interior design portion of the project, which Percy seemed less than focused on.

"Percy." She said. "You need another support beam here." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. His mistakes were architecture 101.

"What?" He asked, snapping out of his glazed state, he looked down and saw the issue. "Oh, right. This is boring."

Annabeth sighed. "Well, it has to be done."

Percy pouted, and Annabeth had to crack a smile at the childish display of emotion. "You're no fun."

"Sorry." She said unapologetically. "It's five anyways. I should get going."

"Yeah, yeah. Are you sure you don't want to come with?" He asked, standing up and buttoning his suit. Annabeth's heart skipped a beat. She had always had a thing for guys in suits, and with the accent and it being Percy, she was surprised she didn't get on her knees right then.

"Yeah, I'm sure. My friends and I are going to check out that famous restaurant, Sketch, I think?" She said, grabbing her coat.

"Yeah," Percy said, taking the coat from her before she could protest and slipping it on her back. His lips brushed her ear, and she shivered, but he pulled away as quick as he had leaned in. "It's lovely, you'll enjoy it." She almost snorted at the thought of a guy saying lovely, but she had learned people talked differently here, especially boys.

"Thanks." She said, out of breath, not for the first time that day. "Tomorrow at nine?" Percy nodded and she showed herself out. Gods, life had gotten crazy.

-0-

Her friends were waiting when she got back, eager to hear what had happened that morning. Well, Piper and Hazel were. Jason and Frank just told her that if Percy needed to be beaten up, they were her guys. She just laughed, and thanked them, but they could tell by her good mood that everything was okay.

Annabeth promised to tell them at dinner, and went to get changed. She put on a red leather mini skirt, one she had bought while she was here a few days ago. Style in London was… extravagant. The leather skirt was the calmest thing she could find. She threw on a white mock neck sweater and some black nylons, and Piper convinced her into wearing the black boots from Givenchy rather than her usual high-heeled Chelsea boots. Annabeth had money – a lot of it – but she rarely splurged. However, she had decided that London was the place to do so, and she had bought herself quite a few things from Prada and other places like it.

Piper and Hazel always took longer than her, so she wasn't surprised to find just Frank and Jason waiting in the living room. A basketball game was on, and they were arm wrestling. Annabeth just rolled her eyes and sank down into one of the chairs. Boys.

"Dude." Frank groaned.

"I fucking beat you, bro." Jason said. "Two out of three."

"Three out of five." Frank said. "Let's go." Annabeth couldn't help but laugh as Jason accepted the challenge. Piper and Hazel came out soon, looking amazing.

"Ready?" Annabeth asked."

Piper nodded as she rummaged through her purse. "Has anybody seen my lip gloss? That rose sugar on I like?"

"Yeah, it's on the breakfast table." Hazel said as Annabeth called an Uber.

"Let's go, the Uber will be here in a few." She said, opening the door. It was always an exercise to get everybody out the door. You would think five twenty-five year olds would be able to live on their own, but it was a daily struggle.

The restaurant was absolutely gorgeous. Annabeth had been skeptical about the all pink, to the point of where she tried to get Piper to book the reservation in a different room, but she was glad Piper had insisted on having "the full Sketch experience".

Once they were seated in fluffy pink chairs, Piper's attention immediately turned on Annabeth. "All the details." She said, and her eyes were so serious.

Annabeth chuckled. "He apologized. We both apologized. He brought me bagels and roses. I mean, what else can a New Yorker ask for." The table laughed. "And, then he asked me on a date."

Hazel squealed. "You went on a date today?"

"What? No." Annabeth shook her head. "We had to work."

Jason laughed. "Of course you did." Annabeth glared at him, but it was playful.

"We're busy."

"Annabeth, keep going." Hazel said.

"That's it, really. I mean, the flirting was more there, but nothing else really happened." Annabeth shrugged nonchalantly, but in reality thinking about today made her brain go crazy. She had never felt this excited about anybody, ever, but she had decided to keep these feelings to herself in case things didn't work out. No need to let everybody down instead of just her.

"I'm happy for you, Annabeth." Piper said, putting a hand on her arm. "We all are."

Annabeth smiled, crossing her legs under the table. The bottle of wine they had ordered had come, and the waiter poured the liquid into her cup. Conversation droned on. Hazel and Piper were talking about what they wanted to do tomorrow. It didn't matter to Annabeth, since she was going to be with Percy all day tomorrow with work. _Percy._ Gods, just the sound of his name made her go insane. If she wasn't so happy, she would be more than a little bit worried about her mental state. Sighing, she leaned back, listened to the happy chatter of her friends, and took a well-deserved sip of wine.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi! This chapter is so so exciting, I have been waiting to write this for so long. Please review and tell me what you think!**

Chapter 11

Percy

Ustulation - a burning lust

It had been a hectic day at work today. His dad was on him about doing something about Annabeth. Poseidon had called twice today, leaving two voicemails asking Percy how he was handling the situation. Of course, Percy hadn't told Poseidon he was planning on doing absolutely nothing. He still wasn't quite sure how he was going to phrase that.

His mind was still running a million miles an hour from yesterday. He really hadn't planned on asking Annabeth out. Honestly, when he had gone to their apartment, he had been expecting a fight, but when he saw her there in her sweats and hair in a messy bun, eyes tinged red from crying, his heart broke. It was impressive, how beautiful she still managed to look in that state. Percy had started wondering if the soulmate thing was real. Whatever he felt for Annabeth was so different. With every girl her had been with before, he had taken everything so fast, even Rachel. With Annabeth, he wanted to savor every moment. Have ten first dates, make love to her after they say those three words for the first time. He wanted to worship her, and that scared Percy to no end.

On top of all this, Percy had slacked off on all his other projects these past few weeks, and one particular apartment building in the West End had been neglected. There were piles and piles of paperwork to file, plus paperwork for every other building he hadn't paid enough attention too. He had almost called Annabeth and told her he couldn't work on their building today, but he had really wanted to see her. So, unprofessionally, he was expecting her to be here within the next ten minutes. Paperwork could wait until later tonight.

"Hi." She said breathlessly, walking in two minutes late for the first time since he met her. "Sorry, long morning." She said, setting her bag down in the empty chair and taking a seat in the one on its left.

"Hey." Percy greeted, trying not to stare at how she had no makeup on today. She was dressed in a simple navy blue pantsuit, and she looked so stunning it was unfair. "What happened?"

Annabeth glanced up from her black bag, giving him an uncertain glance. "I'm not sure my friend would appreciate me telling you." She said, rummaging through her purse for the blueprints.

Percy laughed. "What am I gonna do, spread it around like we're in middle school."

Annabeth gave him a half-hearted, stressed smile. "True." She said, finally pulling out the papers. "Oh thank god. I thought I might have left them at home and the last thing I want to do is go back to that mess."

Percy chuckled again, taking his part of the project into his hands. They had decided to keep it all in one place, and before they had become friends, Annabeth had snapped at him and told him he would lose it. Of course, Percy hadn't told her that that was most likely true. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Annabeth looked at him, grey eyes dull and tired looking. "I don't know, don't we have things to do."

"Annabeth, you can't tell me what a mess it is, and then leave me hanging like that." He said, putting quotes around the word mess.

She sighed, twirling a hand absentmindedly through her curls. "Fine. You remember my friend, Piper?"

"Yeah, what about her?" Percy asked, getting out a pencil.

"She thinks she's pregnant." Annabeth said. "Which would be really bad considering their wedding is in six months."

"At least it's her fiancé." Percy said.

"I guess." She responded. "But who wants to be seven months pregnant on their wedding day. Piper isn't taking it well. She made me go buy six freaking pregnancy tests this morning." Annabeth said with an eye roll. "And when I came back with one less than she wanted, she screamed at me until I went back out again."

Percy grinned. "Sounds rough."

"It was." Annabeth sent him a playful glare. "She woke me up at six AM, and I am _not_ a morning person. The last time I got out of bed willingly before 8 was when I was six."

"Really?" Percy said, tapping his pencil on the table. They weren't getting much work done. "I figured you were a morning person."

Annabeth frowned. "Why?"

"I don't know." Percy shrugged. "You always walk in on time, looking all beautiful and perfect." Annabeth blushed. "And you're always in a good mood."

Annabeth laughed and raised an eyebrow. "Always? I beg to differ."

"Well, lately you have been." Percy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Wonder who that's been about."

Annabeth blushed again but smiled. "Not sure, maybe Hazel?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Funny."

"So what about you?" Annabeth asked, leaning back in her chair. "Morning or night person?"

"Morning, definitely." Percy said. "I love waking up early. Seeing the sunrise, making French toast. Usually I never have somebody to cook for though." He said with a laugh.

"You can cook?" Annabeth said, her mouth now set in a permanent smile.

"Yeah, my mom taught me. She told me it was the most important skill to have." Percy said. "I haven't really used it for anything important though."

Annabeth gave him a smile. "You're in luck."

"I am?" Percy cocked his head, giving her a lopsided grin.

She leaned across the table, their noses almost touching. "I happen to love French toast."

"Mmm." He hummed. "Really."

She giggled breathlessly, and sat back down. "Come on, Perce, we have work to do."

Percy groaned. "Such a buzz kill."

Annabeth just rolled her eyes. "I know, I'm horrible. So, I was thinking we could have Greek pillars here, to include that architectural piece. I think it would make for a beautiful entrance."

Annabeth droned on, but Percy found it extremely hard to listen. Her lips were a soft pink, and they had been _right there._ His body was tingling, and he was hoping she didn't ask him to stand up anytime soon. Gods, they hadn't even kissed. Just the thought of her was enough. What was happening to him?

-0-

Percy was now really regretting not sending Annabeth home after lunch. It was eight o'clock, and he was barely half way through. He hadn't even stopped for dinner, and his stomach was grumbling. If he stopped, though, it would take him forever to get back to it so he just powered through. Annabeth had left her phone, but he figured she'd just grab it tomorrow. Percy had put it in the locked drawer so it wasn't sitting out overnight, but at this rate he wouldn't be leaving his office anytime soon.

Everybody was long gone. Audrey, who had thankfully backed off, was the last one to leave at seven. Ever since Percy had told her he wasn't interested, even in just sex, she had suddenly decided her job wasn't as fun as it used to be, and only talked to him when he asked her something. Percy had moved on to signing release forms for an office building downtown when she walked in.

"Oh, jeez!" Annabeth jumped, her eyes shining wildly as she closed the heavy door behind them. "Percy, you scared me!"

"Sorry," He said, running a hand through his knotted hair. "Just trying to get some work done. I've been putting it off ever since we started our project. What are you doing here?"

"I forgot my phone, but… on the floor?" Annabeth asked skeptically. Percy looked around and noticed with mild surprise he had indeed moved onto the carpeted floor of his office. The floor lamp was the only light on, and Annabeth looked ghostly and beautiful in the amber light. She was wearing black jeans and an oversized men's works shirt, but from the way it was tied he figured she had bought it from a store. Percy most likely looked like a mess. He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbow, shirt untucked and shoes kicked off. He was sure his eyes had red rims around them.

"I don't know." Percy said miserably. Annabeth bit her lip, and Percy could tell she was trying not to laugh.

"Have you had dinner?" She asked.

"No, but-" Percy started, but she cut him off.

"I'll be right back" She said with a gentle smile. It was barely ten minutes before Annabeth came back up, her high heeled boots clicking on the floor. She held up a bag from the Lotus Bar, a restaurant on the bottom floor of the office. "A burger and fries." She said, smiling proudly.

Percy looked at her in amazement, his stomach grumbling. "How did you get that so quickly?"

"I have my ways." She smirked. "Eat." Annabeth demanded, and shoved the bag in his hands. Percy devoured the food, and didn't even notice Annabeth sitting down next to him until he had eaten the last fry and wiped his greasy hands on his work pants.

"So," Annabeth started. "Is it all just paperwork, or…?"

"What?" Percy asked, staring at her. She was shuffling through a pile of papers meant for the start of a new apartment complex in South London.

"I'm helping." She said, as if it was obvious. "Do you have a pen?"

"Annabeth, no. Go home." Percy shook his head wildly. "This is so boring."

"Please," She said, rolling her eyes. "I could do this stuff in my sleep. Let me help. Besides, I owe you like thirty times over."

Percy smiled, feeling a little like he was drunk, but he wasn't sure if it was from sleepiness or her. "True." He passed her a pen. "These are for the start of a building." Annabeth nodded and uncapped the pen with her teeth, holding the cap in her mouth for a second, listening. "You're going to have to sign my name, I guess. I forgot this was illegal."

Annabeth shrugged. "Who's gonna know?" She glanced over at Percy's paper, and drew a perfect copy of his signature on the notepad Percy had sitting next to him. "See?" She said with a grin.

"I don't know if I should be worried or amazed." Percy said, laughing.

"How about amazed." Annabeth suggested, smiling tightly. She grabbed a paper, and they got to work.

They worked like that for the next couple hours, shoulders brushing. Percy was forever grateful Annabeth had showed up. He would have definitely fallen asleep by now, but their constant banter was more than enough of a reason to stay up. They stopped to grab some coffee from the break room, but Annabeth made sure they got right back to work. If there was one thing about Annabeth, it was that she was a workaholic. She almost seemed to be enjoying filling out forms and signing papers.

Percy was on his final stack of papers when he realized it had become eerily silent next to him. He had been so absorbed in his work he hadn't noticed the mess of blonde hair tickling his shoulder. It was well past midnight now, and Annabeth was softly snoring, curled into his neck, her mouth slightly parted. Her breath was hot, and sent shivers down Percy's spine every time she exhaled.

"Annabeth." He whispered. She moaned in complaint, and snuggled in closer to Percy's body, her leg slightly overlapping his. Oh, gods. "Annabeth, you have to wake up. We can't spend the night here."

She groaned again, but sat up, rubbing her eyes. Percy didn't have the heart to tell her that her mascara was on her forehead. "What time is it?" She asked, her voice hoarse with sleep. Percy's body was on sensory overload right now, and he physically held his arm down to resist touching her.

"Almost one."

"In the morning?" She asked, pulling her shoes back on.

"Yeah." He bit back a smile. "We should get home. I'll give you a ride." Neither of them made a move to get up. Their eyes locked, grey on green. Yeah, Percy was definitely drunk off her. He leaned in slowly, until their noses touched and Annabeth was breathing heavy, their breaths mingled as one. Percy could only hope it didn't smell too bad after his burger, but he doubted Annabeth cared. "Thanks for staying with me." He whispered.

"Of course." Annabeth said, so quiet it was almost inaudible. Her hand found his thigh.

"You look beautiful." He said, not really sure what he was saying. He felt high.

She laughed, voice airy. "I doubt that." Her leg swung over his lap, and faster than he could think she had his hands pinned down on the floor. She lifted her hands up, freeing his wrists and wrapped them around his neck. His hands found her hips, and he pressed her closer to him. "Perseus Jackson." She whispered, into his neck, sucking lightly. Percy shivered, and bit his lip to keep from groaning. "Kiss me."

Percy didn't need to be told twice. His lips connected with hers, their bodies grinding together. It was passionate and fast and hot and everything he had ever imagined kissing Annabeth would be and more. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, and she gave in without a fight. She gave a whimper and his hands moved to her ass, giving it a light squeeze.

Percy disconnected, gasping for air. He opened his eyes to find Annabeth's head thrown back, face flush and body moving with every shallow breath she took. He moved onto her neck, sucking a trail down and across towards her ear, until he found where her sensitive spot was. Annabeth gasped, bucking her hips.

"Gods." She groaned. "Percy." She posed his name as a question.

"Hmm." He hummed as he made his way down to her breasts, tracing a fingertip over the curve of one as he pulled a button of her blazer open.

"Let's get out of here." She gasped, bringing his head back up to hers to kiss him again.

He pulled away, and she latched onto his jaw. He couldn't believe he was about to say this. "No." He could practically hear his erection protesting.

Annabeth scoffed, slipping a hand under his shirt, rubbing her hand across the defined v that disappeared into his slacks. "No?"

"No." Percy said, more firmly this time. "I'm going to do this right with you."

That got her attention. She sat up on his lap, bracing herself on his thighs. "What?"

"You're too special for this." He said. "This isn't… we aren't…" He struggled to find the right words, his mind still a muddled mess. "Date first, sex second."

Annabeth cocked her head, but smiled. "Okay, Jackson." She slid off him, and Percy was now seriously regretting saying no. Of course, tomorrow when he didn't have a raging boner and hormones, he wouldn't, but right now he would give anything for her to get back on his lap. Hell, they could fuck right here in his office and he wouldn't care.

Annabeth tucked her shirt back in, and stood up, offering Percy a hand. "Thanks." He said, grabbing his jacket. He led her out of the office, making sure she remembered her phone and he turned out the lights. The papers were still all over the floor, but he'd organize that in the morning.

"So," He said once they were in the elevator. "You gonna be able to tell me your address tonight?"

Annabeth laughed, but immediately got a sour look on her face. "Oh, gods, I forgot I had to go back there."

Percy frowned as the elevator opened up onto the lobby. "What happened?"

Annabeth blushed, the night breeze making goose bumps appear on their skin. Percy offered her his jacket, but she declined. "Piper and I got into an argument. I was being stupid, but I hate apologizing."

Percy grinned. "No way."

Annabeth glared at him and shoved him, but the smile in her eyes gave her away. "I told her she was being ridiculous about the whole pregnant while getting married thing. She snapped at me, and I snapped back and told her that who cares if she was fat. Then, of course, with the hormones she just started sobbing in the middle of the restaurant. Jason's pretty pissed at me too." She wrapped her arms around herself as they walked to the parking garage. "It won't make matters any better when I walk in there at two in the morning and wake everybody up."

Percy chuckled. They had reached his Mercedes, and he opened the door for her. "You could come to my place." He said as he slipped into the driver's seat. Annabeth looked at him like he had dropped from another planet. "Or not, I just-"

"Wait." Annabeth cut him off. "If it's not a bother, I'd love too."

Percy breathed out a sigh of relief. "It's not." He said with a smile and was rewarded with another one of Annabeth's dazzling grins.

"Good." She said, lacing her fingers through his. "We're just sleeping, though." She said, looking at him pointedly.

"Just sleeping." Percy confirmed. Annabeth nodded, resting her head on the back of the seat, her hand tracing patterns on the back of his hand.

-0-

They reached Percy's apartment – or penthouse – in less than ten minutes. Percy had taken the opportunity to speed through downtown - it wasn't everyday he drove around London in the dead of night - despite Annabeth's complaints. She had called him a child, but he could tell she was trying not to laugh.

"I forgot how beautiful it was here." Annabeth said softly, gazing out the window in his living room while he got her a glass of water.

Percy came up behind her, wrapping his hands around her waist. Her hands found his, and she started playing with his fingers, leaning her head back into the crook of his neck. "Much better with you here." He murmured against her smooth skin, and pressed a kiss to her neck.

Annabeth laughed, shoving him away. "I'm tired." She announced, and started walking towards his bedroom. Halfway there, she turned around, kicking off a heel. "You coming?"

"Uh," Percy said intelligently. "I thought I would take the couch."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I said no sex, not no touching. Come on, Jackson, don't be so ridiculous." She started off towards the room again, and Percy followed this time.

"Do you want a t-shirt or work shirt?" He asked, rifling through his drawers and trying to find the sweats he sometimes wore to bed.

"Work." Annabeth responded from the bathroom, water splashing as she washed her makeup off. "I can't believe you didn't tell me I looked like this." She groaned.

Percy grinned, throwing her one of his shirts. "I thought it was cute." Annabeth just rolled her eyes, and shut the door. "I sleep shirtless, by the way." He yelled after her.

Annabeth laughed. "Definitely doesn't bother me." Percy smirked and got under the silk covers. He thought about Annabeth, watching her drunk body pass out in this same exact bed. Never in a million years did he think they would be here, not even two weeks later.

Annabeth stepped out, her hair brushed out, his shirt hitting upper thigh. Gods, she was stunning. Percy held out a hand, and she let him pull her on top of her. He kissed her, quickly.

Annabeth smiled against his lips, giggling. She pecked him on the lips again, then rolled off him onto the other side of the bed. She put her hands under her head and curled up facing away from him, under the covers. He brushed her curls down so they weren't sitting on his face, and pressed his body flush with hers, wrapping his arm around her small waist, his other hand playing with her curls. "This is okay, right?"

Annabeth just laughed. "Goodnight, Percy." He took that as a yes, and pressed a kiss to her messy hair.

"Goodnight, Annabeth." He smiled, and fell into probably the best sleep of his life.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Annabeth

Annabeth was a nervous wreck, though she wasn't really sure why. Friday had come around quickly. She had spent the past few days with Percy, basically nonstop except for sleeping. They kissed a lot, made out a couple times. He cooked for her one time, when they had gone back to his apartment to clean up after a lunch spent behind his locked office door. But a date… It just felt all the more serious. It had been almost four years since Annabeth's last first date. To say she was out of practice was an understatement.

Somewhere in her mind, she knew it was all going to be okay. She had never felt this way about someone before, even Luke. Her mind was going crazy. She was dressed in a red body-con dress, with lace detailing at the bottom and in the back. She grabbed her simple black stilettos, and checked the time. Five to eight. Five minutes to steel her nerves, and get it together. She did a once over of herself in the mirror. At least she was confident in her appearance. The only thing Annabeth had gotten out of Percy about their date was the dress code – nice restaurant, he had said with a smirk. Other than that, Annabeth was in the dark. If there was one thing Annabeth hated, it was surprises. Annabeth had to be in control, and surprises were the complete opposite of that.

A knock at the door shattered her thoughts. Annabeth pulled the hem of her skirt down, and strutted out, grabbing her black clutch that held her phone, chapstick, debit card, and pepper spray – just in case Percy turned crazy, which she doubted would happen, but you could never be too sure.

Jason answered the door. "Percy Jackson? Come on in."

'Thanks." She heard Percy's voice drifting through the entryway. "Is Annabeth?"

"She's coming." Jason said, and Annabeth could hear the protectiveness in his voice. Oh, jeez. "By the way, Annabeth's like my little sister. If you hurt her-"

Annabeth cut him off, saving Percy from further embarrassment. "Jason, I'm seven months older than you. I'll be back before midnight." She grabbed Percy's hand, and shut the door behind them. They barely got two steps in before he pulled her in for a kiss. Annabeth was pretty sure she would never get tired of kissing Percy.

"You look absolutely stunning." He said softly, tucking a glossy curl behind her ear.

"You clean up pretty nicely, too." Annabeth said, grinning. Percy was wearing slacks with a dress shirt and jacket. He hadn't bothered with a tie, which Annabeth was grateful for. There was something about guys with that one button undone, slightly disheveled, that drove her absolutely crazy.

He slipped his hand into hers. "Shall we go?"

The accent made Annabeth want to open the door of her apartment and run to her bedroom, but she pushed that thought aside. "Of course." She said instead, and he pressed the down button for the elevator.

-0-

"Oh," Annabeth breathed. "What is this place?" She asked.

Percy grinned. "You like it?"

"Yeah, but where are we?"

"Oblix." He said. "It's my favorite restaurant in the city."

"Hi!" A bubbly waitress spoke up. "Do you have reservations, sir?"

"Yeah, under Percy Jackson." He said.

"Oh, of course! Your set up is right this way." Set up? Annabeth barely had time to dwell on that though, as the waitress led them through throngs of tables, people chatting away, laughing. The views were absolutely spectacular. They were on the 43rd floor of a high rise in downtown London, the city sprawled out beneath them. It was beautiful, and the food smelled so good Annabeth's stomach started to grumble.

When the waitress opened the door for them, Annabeth's jaw literally dropped. They were on a private deck outside, but it wasn't cold or windy. A glass fence protected them from the chill, and heating lamps were placed strategically around for their comfort. A table for two was set up under a canopy, fairy lights strung throughout the scene.

"Percy." Annabeth breathed. She could hear his grin as he wrapped his hands around her waist. The waitress left without another word as Percy pressed a kiss to her neck.

"It's not too much, is it?" He asked. "I just – you don't really seem like you want to be spoiled, but I thought that you deserved to be, and-"

Annabeth kissed him, hard, effectively shutting him up. "Of course not. Nobody's ever done anything like this for me." She shook her head, a smile of disbelief playing on her lips. "I love it."

"Good." Percy said, his smile returning. He pulled out her chair for her, and she gladly slipped in. "Madame." He said with a grin, and Annabeth laughed. How did she get so lucky?

A waiter came out, introducing himself, bringing out the bottle of wine Percy had apparently pre ordered. She didn't even want to know how much it cost, which she figured was his reason for pre ordering. Annabeth tried not to think about it, because it was basically the best thing she had ever tasted.

"This," She said, taking another drink. "Is delicious."

Percy chuckled, setting his glass down. "I know. It's one of my favorites, but I don't always have a beautiful girl as an excuse to splurge on it." Annabeth blushed.

"It's a pre-fixed menu, by the way." Percy said. "I know you're supposedly vegetarian, but…"

Annabeth waved him off. "That's sort of gone out the window this trip. It's all good."

Percy gave her one of his signature lopsided grins. "Great."

They were brought bread and butter within the next few minutes, and they both dug in. "This is my favorite part of dinner." She said with a laugh, dusting her hands off on the napkin in her lap.

Percy chuckled. "All I had to do was bring you some bread, and we would've been good?"

Annabeth shrugged, smiling. "Yeah, pretty much. I love bread. I wish I loved, like broccoli or something, but life's unfair."

Percy grinned. "Bread is pretty good." He took a sip of his wine, and crossed his legs. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Annabeth said, feeling a little tipsy.

"Who was that guy, in the pictures? Why aren't you guys still together?" He blushed. "I mean, hopefully you aren't still together."

Annabeth laughed. "No, we broke up a few months ago. His name was Luke." She picked up a piece of the smoked salmon and chive cream cheese flat bread they had brought them for the second course. "We dated for about three years, straight out of college. I thought he was the love of my life. For a long time, I thought the necklaces were wrong. Then, I became CEO, and…" She took a bite of the flat bread, trying to do so gracefully but she utterly failed. Luckily, Percy was a mess too, his chin decorated with a swipe of cream cheese. "We grew apart. It started with not having sex every day, then to skipping date night to hang out with friends instead."

Percy nodded, sipping his wine. "How did it end?"

"I came home one day, past ten for the third time that week. He said we needed to talk, and he broke up with me." Annabeth said, her heart clenching as she thought of that horrible night, yet it didn't seem to affect her the same tonight. "I thought it was the worst thing that could have happened to me. I was pretty determined to not be in a relationship ever again, but then…" She blushed, gesturing to Percy.

"Yeah, well we're soulmates, right?" He said, grinning.

"True." Annabeth said with a smile. "What about you?" She asked. "Any girls?" Their main course came, a rib-eye that melted in Annabeth's mouth. It was absolutely delicious.

"One. Her name was Rachel." He said, cutting into his steak. "I was going to propose – ask her to move in with me, I mean. Commit to her. I went to her apartment to surprise her one day, and she was with another guy." He shook his head, not meeting her gaze. She slipped a hand into his across the table, intertwining their fingers. "Anyways, she moved to America about a month ago. Said she needed to get away from here, a break. Who knows?" He shrugged.

Annabeth rubbed his knuckles. "I'm sorry." She said quietly.

Percy looked up, meeting her eyes. "It's okay, honestly. I was a wreck the first week or so after she left, but then you came and… I pretty much forgot about her."

Before Annabeth could respond, the waiter came back. "How was everything?" He asked with a smile.

"Great," They chorused, and the waiter nodded, telling them he'd be back with dessert in a few minutes.

"Thank you for tonight." Annabeth said, squeezing his hand gently. "I never thought… this definitely wasn't how I planned this trip to go."

Percy chuckled. "Yeah, me neither. I was pretty positive you were gonna be a stuck-up, scrawny girl."

Annabeth giggled. "Glad I could exceed your expectations." She said, as dessert came, and a glass of port was poured. Annabeth was never really a big port drinker, but gods this was delicious. Everything was perfect, from the incredible food, to the picture perfect setting, to the way Percy's eyes glistened in the soft amber light given off from the fireplaces. Dessert was chocolate truffles, seven different ones, each one better than the one before.

"Last one." Percy said, wiggling his eyebrows and cutting it in half.

"Oh, thank gods." She laughed, holding her stomach jokingly. "I'm so full I'm going to die."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Please, I could eat a whole other steak."

"Oh goodness, what am I getting myself into?" She said with a smile. Percy grinned, and picked up a half of the truffle, and held it out to her. She took it from him, popping it into her mouth at the same time as him. She hummed in the back of her throat, eyes closed. "So good.

When she opened her eyes, Percy was blushing. Annabeth laughed, "What?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. "Nothing, just… you."

"Me."

"You." He agreed and it was Annabeth's turn to blush. "You're incredible and beautiful and you have no idea how lucky I'm feeling right now that I had the honor to go out with you." Annabeth thought her heart might explode.

She was blushing harder than she thought was possible. "Well, you might just have a second chance." Annabeth said, trying to recover.

Percy gave her one of his endearing lopsided grins as the busboy cleared their plates. Folding their napkins, they got up, wandering over to the edge. Annabeth's hair whipped in the wind, the fence no longer breaking the breeze. Percy's hands wrapped around her waist and they swayed lightly, just enjoying the feeling of their bodies touching. She turned around and gave him a kiss. Then another. And another. Until she was facing him, running her hands through his hair, kissing him hard.

She pulled away, breathless. "Let's get out of here."

He kissed her again, long and slow. "Mmm, yeah, you've gotta get home. It's a little past eleven."

Annabeth shoved him playfully, resting her head on his chest, staring out at the glittering lights of London. "That's not what I meant."

"I know." He said, stroking her hair and planting a kiss to her messy curls. "Not tonight."

"Tomorrow?" Annabeth asked, laughing.

Percy shook his head, chuckling. "Doing this right, remember? You're not making it any easier. Gods, the things I want to do to you…" He trailed off as Annabeth nipped at his jaw.

"Then do them." She whispered in his ear, making me shiver.

"Soon." He promised, pecking her on the lips. "But not tonight." He said firmly, taking her hand and leading her to the door.

"You know," She said as they got in the elevator. "I've never had to beg for sex before."

"Yeah, well I've never turned it down." Percy grinned. "A first for both of us."

"I like creating firsts with you." Annabeth mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder. Yeah, she was definitely pretty tipsy right now. Percy just smiled against her head, and kissed her blonde curls again.

-0-

They had reached her apartment door, but Annabeth couldn't bring herself to knock. "Goodnight." She whispered, faces so close, their noses were touching.

"Goodnight." He whispered back, a smile playing on his lips. He leaned in, planting his lips on hers. She could swear butterflies were exploding in her stomach right then. It started slow, but Annabeth and Percy were never very good at taking things slow. He slowly started to move them backwards, and Annabeth let out a whimper as her back slammed against her apartment wall. He sucked a trail down her neck, finding her sensitive spot. She fisted his hair, gasping.

"Okay." She breathed, settling her hands on his shoulders. "Okay, I'm going inside."

Percy groaned, but released his grip on her hips. "Yeah." He agreed, pecking her on the lips one more time.

"Goodnight, Percy." She said with a grin, turning the handle to her apartment.

"Wait, Annabeth?" He called out, his hand rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he was nervous.

"Yeah?" She asked, a smirk dancing across her face.

"Will you, uh – will you be my girlfriend?" He asked, not meeting her eyes.

Annabeth almost busted out laughing. This reminded her of high school, but it was so Percy at the same time that she had never heard something more endearing. "Of course, Percy. I'll see you on Monday. Call me, okay?"  
Percy grinned. "Okay, goodnight." Annabeth shut the door, pressing her back to the other side, breathing hard with the most ridiculous grin on her face right now. She was sure she looked so lovesick it was disgusting, but she didn't care.

"Annabeth!" Piper squealed, jumping over the couch, and hugging her. "How did it go?" She asked, guiding her over to the couch where everybody sat. It was clear they had waited up for her, and Annabeth loved them for that.

"Oh my gods." She breathed. "It was so so so so so so good." She said grabbing Piper and Hazels hands and bouncing on the couch. She felt sixteen again, but in a good way. "He brought me to this beautiful restaurant with views of the city, and we sat out on the balcony just the two of us…" Annabeth launched into a half hour description of her date, Piper and Hazel listening intently. The boys were half-listening, half playing some new video game they had found. She still marveled at boys' ability to pretend they weren't getting any older.

"You're in looovveeee." Piper teased, and Hazel and Annabeth giggled.

"Mhmm, sure, Pipes." Annabeth said, shaking her head.

"Have you had sex, yet?" Piper asked.

Hazel blushed. For somebody who was in a committed, intimate relationship, she really hated talking about things like this. "Piper!" She squeaked.

"What?" Piper put her hands up in defense. "It's just a question. He looks like he'd be a god in bed."

Annabeth shoved her friend playfully. "No, we haven't. He says he wants to get it right with me, whatever that means. Honestly, I'm just horny. I haven't had sex in like two months, and he's killing me."

"That's so cute!" Hazel said, referring to the get it right part.

Piper just laughed. "Never thought I'd see the day Annabeth Chase would beg for sex."

Annabeth glared at her. "I do not beg, I just suggest it… and get shut down. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened this weekend, though." She said, yawning. She stepped up from the couch, heading to her room, but she turned her head back around, giving her friends a playful smirk. "I mean, who can resist me?" Piper and Hazel laughed, but Jason threw a pillow at her.

"Me!" He yelled after her, which just made them burst out laughing again.

-0-

It was Sunday when they saw each other again. Percy had called her the night before, and they had stayed up talking for a couple hours, ending the phone call with that ridiculous grin she always got whenever she just heard his name. It was supposed to be almost sixty today and not raining, which was so out of the ordinary for London, Percy said they had to celebrate with a walk and picnic by the water. Annabeth, of course, had agreed.

They met at the London Eye, Percy coming from a last minute meeting at the office.

"Hi." He said, pulling her in for a kiss.

Annabeth hummed. "Hi." She broke away, and grabbed his hand, swinging it back and forth. London was a beautiful city, but Annabeth still found herself missing New York. She thought about all of her favorite places, every restaurant and park she wanted to show Percy. They walked the boardwalk for close to an hour, joking and laughing together. They stopped in an ice cream shop, and Percy got three scoops.

"Percy." Annabeth chided. "That's not healthy." She said, as she dug into her one scoop of cookie dough.

Percy just rolled his eyes. "Have you seen me?" Annabeth hit him on the shoulder, but she blushed. Yeah, she had seen him and thought about him. The idea made her want to kiss him senseless, but then a little girl walked by and Annabeth decided against that.

Less than ten minutes later, Percy announced he was hungry. "Let's stop here." He said, walking up the path to the grassy area. He had brought sandwiches from some place she hadn't ever heard of, and his picnic blanket was red checkers.

Annabeth laughed. "You are the last person I expected to have this blanket."

Percy blushed, giving her a sheepish grin. "I borrowed it from my mom."

Annabeth sat down on the blanket, grabbing her sandwich. "You told your mom about me?"

"Uh, duh." He said, making Annabeth laugh again, her head thrown back. He took the opportunity to kiss her, pulling her onto his lap.

"Percy, we're in public." She said, trying to unravel their legs, but he held her down.

"Don't care." He said, nibbling on her bottom lip.

"I thought you were-" Annabeth gasped as he slipped a hand under shirt, so subtly you wouldn't be able to tell if you weren't looking closely. "Hungry." She finished breathily, her lips finding his again.

"Never specified which kind." He said, voice husky, and Annabeth let out a little whimper, earning a glare from a mom nearby.

"Percy." She gasped in between kisses. "Can we please get out of here today?"

Percy grinned. "Gladly." He said, packing up their uneaten food. They practically ran to his apartment that was only a few blocks away from where they had ended up.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Annabeth

Percy had never really struck Annabeth as the talented sort of person. Average probably in school, okay at architecture, but god damn he was talented at sex.

They had fucked basically every place they could that past week. His office, every conference room, the break room, the hallway late at night, his place, her place, his car. And fuck, it was… awesome. That word was so not Annabeth, and so Percy that she almost laughed out loud, though she restrained herself while she tried to focus on designing the upstairs bathroom.

"Annabeth." Percy said, looking up from his computer. She hummed in response. "I'm bored."  
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Percy, focus. We only have two days before we have to have the master done, and it's going to take us forever."

"I can't focus."

"Why not?" Annabeth said, putting down her pencil and looking up at him, realizing her mistake too late. He was looking at her like _that_ and Annabeth knew she was a goner.

"Because you…" Percy gestured at her, moving his hand up and down. Annabeth looked down, and realized she was looking a little provocative at the moment. Her white blouse had somehow come unbuttoned to the point of it showing the tip of her lacy white bra. Her hair was slipping out of her bun, curls framing her face that probably had cherry red lips and flushed cheeks from how hard they had been working that day. "You look like that."

Annabeth sighed, and buttoned up her blouse. "Percy, work."

"Annabeth!" He whined, like a little kid, pushing up his sleeves in a way he knew turned her on. Annabeth internally gave in, knowing no real work was going to get done at the minute.

She wandered over to his side of the desk, stripping off the white blouse at the same time. Annabeth took a seat on his lap, and she could see the childish smirk growing on Percy's face. "I'll help you." She said, picking up his pen and sketching a column, trying to keep her head straight as Percy gripped her hips tightly.

He sucked on her collarbone, and Annabeth dropped the pen, throwing her head back with a breathy laugh. "You've got thirty minutes, Jackson." She warned as he dropped in for another searing kiss.

So yeah, life was pretty good right now.

-0-

She had left the office and gone straight home that day, a first for the week. Her and her friends were planning on going out to dinner tonight, Thursday. They were going out with everybody tomorrow, and they had decided on a low key night. Annabeth felt slightly guilty that she hadn't been around that much, but she figured they didn't mind.

"You're shirts inside out." Piper said without looking up.

"What?" Annabeth spluttered. "No, I thought…" Annabeth looked down, realizing Piper was playing with her. "Oh, you bitch." She said jokingly, and they all laughed.

"Change, we're leaving in thirty." Hazel said between giggles.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, and left the room, opening her closet. She settled on an olive green turtleneck bodycon dress and her black Louboutin's. Thirty minutes later, her and her friends were on their way out the door, an Uber waiting for them.

Annabeth was shutting their apartment door when her mom called. "Hey, guys, I'll catch up with you at the restaurant. It's my mom, it might take a while." She said to her friends.

"Okay, are you sure?" Jason asked, fingers interlaced with Piper who looked stunning in a velvet bodysuit and black pants.

"Yeah, go ahead." She said with a smile that she hoped didn't look as nervous as she felt. She stepped back into the apartment, answering the phone.

"Mother?"

"What are you doing with the Jackson boy?"

Annabeth sighed, sinking into a bar stool in the kitchen. "Mom, we're dating."

"Not on my watch, you're not. Annabeth, do you know how bad this is for business? That our companies are enemies, and you're fucking the kid?"

"Mom!" Annabeth exclaimed, exasperated. "We are not just fucking." She said, the harsh word feeling so crude coming off her lips. Never would she ever describe their relationship as just that.

"Then what would you call it? There can't be anything between you and that blithering idiot."

"You don't even know him!" Annabeth ran a hand through her curls, not caring if the frizz returned.

"I know they're family well enough to know that this isn't going to end well for you."

"Well, there's nothing you can do about it, Mother. If you'll excuse me, I have a dinner to get too."

"Wait, young lady. Of course there's something I can do about it. Either you break it off with the boy, or you're demoted."

"What?" Annabeth spluttered. "You can't – you can't do that!"

"What do you mean? Of course I can." Athena snarled. "If you're not focused enough on your work, maybe you need to return to senior partner for a little while. If the work load is becoming too much."

"I – it's not! Mom, please, I love this job, please don't." The last thing Annabeth liked to do was beg, but here she was, losing all her dignity. She could practically hear Athena laughing at her.

"Then, break it off. You have twenty-four hours. Have a nice dinner." Athena said, and hung up.

Annabeth threw her phone across the room, hoping it cracked and she never had to get another call from her mother again. She hung her head in her hands, feeling tears slip through her fingers. Of course, just as things were getting to be amazing; she had a boyfriend who was her _soulmate,_ no less, a high ranking job, best friends, and she was spending three months in London, her mom had to call and ruin it. Annabeth wondered if she found pleasure in running around ruining people's lives. With a chill, Annabeth realized that was why she was such a good business woman. She didn't have a caring bone in her body. She was willing to go to any length to make people do what she wanted.

The thought made Annabeth want to rebel even more, but she knew what she had to do. She had worked hard, since the moment she could talk, to have this job. She wasn't going to give it up now.

She opened up her phone to see a heart-wrenching text from Percy.

 _Hey, hope you're having a good time. Do you want to stay the night tomorrow? I was going to buy stuff to make you French toast :)_

Annabeth sobbed, but pressed the call button. She took steadying breaths, trying to get it together. If she was crying while doing this, Percy would know something was wrong, and he would make it all worse.

"Hey," He said, picking up on the second ring. "I thought you were at dinner?"

"Um," She tried to say, but it was more of a squeak.

"Annabeth?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Um, yeah, hi, I'm here." She rambled, taking a deep breath. "Listen, Percy, we need to talk."

He chuckled nervously. "Okay… what's up?"

Annabeth choked back another sob. "I've been thinking, and I… I just don't think it's going to work out between us."

"What?" Percy said, quietly. "I thought… what did I do?" He asked, and he sounded so heartbroken that Annabeth almost broke down and told him the truth. She stayed strong, though. If she told him the truth, her mom would start attacking him. She could never let that happen.

"Nothing, gods, Percy, it's not you." She said, pacing in front of the huge windows in their living room. "I just…" She scrambled, looking for an excuse. She really should have prepared better for this. "We're supposed to be working on this house for Zeus, and this whole relationship is just distracting. It's not responsible."

"Distracting." He repeated, in this monotone voice Annabeth had never heard before.

"I'm sorry, Percy." She said, tears streaming down her face. She needed to hang up before she started to full out sob in front of him. "I have to go." She said, and pressed the huge red circle before letting herself cry. She settled into the couch, hugging her knees, trying to shake the feelings that she had just let go of the best thing that had ever happened to her.

-0-

Annabeth had gone to bed before her friends had gotten back. They didn't question her, which Annabeth was grateful for, and she left in the morning before any of them got up. She took an Uber to work today, trying not to think about how she and Percy had gone to work every day together that week.

Gods, she forgot that she would have to see him. It was too soon, but her whole bullshit excuse for breaking up with him was that they needed to focus on work. She had to go.

She got their late, five minutes late. The Uber driver was slow. Maybe he had sensed her despair. She walked through the halls of his office, greeting the people she had grown to know and be friends with. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on his office door. She hadn't knocked in over a couple weeks, but it felt right.

"Come in." He responded.

She opened the door, quietly stepping in.

"Oh. It's you." He said, with such distaste that Annabeth had to bite her tongue before she said something rude. "I wasn't sure you would be coming in today."

"Of course I would." She said, and the disgust in her voice surprised her. Maybe she had more of her mother in her than she thought. The thought scared her to no end, but she didn't dwell on it.

Percy scoffed. "I thought I was a distraction."

"Our relationship was a distraction to the work." Annabeth said, putting her bag in the chair on the right and going to sit on the left like she always did.

"Don't sit there." Percy snarled.

"What do you mean, don't sit there. We have work to do. Quit being a baby." She said, sitting there anyway, looking him straight in the eye. She had expected to feel on the brink of crying the whole day, but he wasn't making it very hard to be actually made at him.

His eyes flashed with anger. Honestly, she couldn't blame him, but that didn't mean it didn't make her any less angry. "Get the fuck out." He said, harshly, and pointed at the door.

Annabeth felt a sharp pang in her chest, and Percy must have seen it in her face, since his eyes softened. "Annabeth, just please leave. I can't… I can't do this today. We're working on different parts anyway right now. You can work from home."

Annabeth's own eyes softened, and she felt instantly sorry for him again. She had done this. "Okay. I'll, um, see you tonight?" She said, posing it more as a question since she wasn't sure he would show up.

He nodded absentmindedly, never looking up from his work when Annabeth clicked out of the room.

-0-

Annabeth hadn't told her friends what had happened. They knew something was wrong, but they didn't question her. Annabeth had worked from home that day, throwing herself into designing, the way she always did when she was avoiding her feelings. It wasn't healthy, she knew that, but it was the only way she could get through today.

Annabeth tried everything to get out of this dinner. The last thing she wanted to do was fluff out her hair, put on a dress, and sip champagne at the Ritz, but here she was, sliding into a knee length black slip dress. She was planning on wearing a light blue dress, but she figured black matched her mood better. She couldn't face Percy's favorite color without wanting to cry.

Everybody knew something was wrong as soon as they got there. Annabeth clung to Piper like a lifeline, and Percy did everything possible to avoid being five feet from her. Piper and Hazel kept giving her concerned looks, but she tried to ignore them.

They were seated in a back room. With as big of a group as they had, it would have disrupted the other people. Percy sat at one end, and Annabeth at the other. Thalia was on her left, Frank on her right. Unfortunately, Piper and Hazel had been dragged across the room from her, so it became hard to keep hiding behind them.

Everything was going smoothly. Annabeth was careful not to drink too much, and Thalia and her were laughing and chatting about things they had missed in each other's lives. They were barely into their main course when someone started the dreaded conversation.

"So, how are the soulmates doing?" Leo asked with a cheerful grin, and the whole table fell silent. Everybody knew something was up, except for Leo apparently.

Percy was the only one still poking at his food. He shrugged, nonchalantly. "Who knows? I'm just a distraction."

Annabeth started to seethe. Who was he, to act like he didn't care, when she knew full well he fucking did. She did, she cared, and just because she couldn't show it didn't mean she didn't want Percy to show it. She knew it was selfish, but she couldn't help it. "For fuck's sake, Percy, quit acting like a baby." She spit, and the whole table watched them like a tennis match.

"Oh, that's rich coming from you." He sneered. "You know, Annabeth, why don't you just run on back to New York. It'd make life for everybody a whole lot easier."

"Woah." Thalia tried to interject.

Annabeth laughed coldly. "Sorry, I didn't know your opinion mattered."

"No, you know what?" He yelled standing up out of his seat. "You're right. I couldn't give two shits about you. You're a _distraction._ "

Annabeth was standing now, fists balled. Frank was tugging at her wrist, trying to get her to settle down, but Annabeth whipped her arm out of his grasp. "Get the fuck over it!" She screamed, grabbed her bag, and stalked out of there before she left a hole in her table.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Percy

"Dad, it's over anyway, okay?" Percy sighed. "You don't have to worry about it anymore."

"Oh, son, that's great." Poseidon responded, a grin evident in his voice. "I knew you would come to your senses."

"Yeah, sure." Percy muttered. He didn't have the heart or the energy to tell him what really happened. "Look, I have to get back to work. I'll talk to you later."

"Of course. See you later." His dad said, then hung up.

Percy went back to trying to do the task at hand, but he couldn't focus. His dyslexia seemed as bad as it had been in high school today. He groaned, hitting his head against the desk twice. He was almost embarrassed at how hurt Annabeth had made him feel. He felt like crying, and Percy never ever cried over girls.

He couldn't get her out of his head. He kept asking himself what he did wrong, which he knew wasn't healthy. People had their reasons, you shouldn't dwell on them. Maybe they moved too fast, but Annabeth was a full grown adult. If she didn't want too, she would have said no. Actually she gave him like five yes's that first night they had sex, so he figured that wasn't it. Maybe what she said was the truth. She thought they should focus on their work, but Percy thought that was a bullshit excuse. They were focusing just fine. They were ahead of schedule in fact, and this whole breakup thing was actually pushing them back.

Or maybe… she just didn't like him. That thought was the one that made Percy's heart really break. Because he liked her. Gods, he liked her.

She was intoxicatingly beautiful and witty and smart and everything he could ever ask for. Percy had never really believed in love at first sight, but with Annabeth… well, his ideas could have changed.

They had agreed on a half day today for the first day of the week, and then go from there. She knocked on the door, scattering his thoughts.

"Want some fries? I have leftovers." She announced, walking into his office with her hair down today, which started to do things to Percy's brain that he wasn't allowed to think anymore.

"Uh," He was about to reject when his stomach grumbled. He blushed, realizing he hadn't stopped for lunch and it was almost one. "Sure, thanks." She smiled slightly, passing the bag to him.

"We should probably go out to the site. The foundation should be almost done, and they're starting the Greek columns today. I want to make sure they get the flutes exactly right, and I don't want them to do anything stupid like add scrolls."

"Yeah, sure." Percy said through a mouthful of food.

"Great," Annabeth said, setting her bag down on the normal chair. "Let me just grab the drawings we need and then we can go." She walked over to the file cabinet, used her key to open the top drawer, and started rifling through their folder.

Percy was a little stunned. He had figured he would be getting the cold shoulder today, but she was acting totally normal. Well, normal like how she acted before he had asked her out. He wanted to bring it up, but he didn't want to break her little bubble. An angry Annabeth was about the worst thing he could imagine right now.

"Ready?' She asked, producing the papers and sliding them into her bag.

"Uh," Percy stumbled over his words. "Yeah, yeah, let me get my coat."

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Are you?" He blurted out, then instantly cursed in his head. "I mean, I just thought you would be mad at me or something."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Do you want me to be mad?"

"I guess not." Percy shook his head, and Annabeth furrowed her eyebrow, cocking her hip slightly. "I mean, no. Of course not."

Annabeth sighed, slinging her purse over her shoulder. "Look. This house has to get done, whether we're together or not. It's not helping anything if we fight all day long."

"You're right." Percy said, standing up too fast and almost knocking over a picture of him, Grover and Leo. He let out a nervous laugh. "Um, let's go."

Annabeth just rolled her eyes again, walking out of the room without a glance back.

-0-

Percy wasn't really being much help, but honestly, Annabeth didn't need his help. The company who was supposed to be done with the foundation of the inside today was on a lunch break when we got there, and not even close to done. The lunch wasn't the big deal – everybody had to eat. It was the fact that they had gone off site to get lunch, and considering where the house was, it must have cut into their work time by over an hour.

The house looked good so far. Beams were sturdy, their design had turned out perfectly. He couldn't wait for the finished project. He became slightly jealous of the fact that Zeus would be the one living here, not him.

Unfortunately, Annabeth didn't think things were going so smoothly. "So," Annabeth continued after her rant about poor work ethic. Percy would have felt bad for the guy in charge, but he was paying them a lot of money to get this done. "Your contract clearly states that there will be a drop in salary if the project is not finished in a timely manner. I'll have to discuss with my partner what this will be, but please, don't let me ever find you sitting here eating a sandwich from a restaurant twenty minutes from here again."

The guy looked scared out of his mind, and Percy found himself very grateful he wasn't on the receiving end of her stormy gray eyes. "But – but we didn't know you were coming!"

Percy almost laughed because that was such the wrong thing to say. Annabeth's eyes turned icy cold. "I'll repeat. If you ever take a lunch break longer than the allotted thirty minutes again during this project, I will fire each and every one of you, find somebody else, and leave a nasty message with your manager. Okay?"

The guy nodded vigorously, and he and his team basically ran back to work. Annabeth sighed, exasperated. "Good." She said, to only Percy at that point they had left so fast. She grabbed Percy by the arm, dragging him over to where the people were fitting the columns.

"Hi." She said, a lot more pleasant than she was on the other side of the property.

"Ms. Chase, Mr. Jackson. A pleasure. I'm Adam." The guy – Adam – said.

"Nice to meet you." Percy stuck out a hand. Annabeth didn't bother, just pulled out her sketches.

"So." She started again. Percy sighed. This was going to be a long day. "I wanted to go with the Doric style, to give the home an older feel. Just the plain columns, a standard twenty flutes, and then the square top for support. No scrolls or anything. I was thinking four, two on each side of the entrance, and then just a simple two steps up." Annabeth started to get a glazed look on her face like she always did when she talked about architecture, but she shook her head, snapping out of it. "Sorry, you aren't doing that. Just the Doric style, please."

Adam nodded, but he looked a little lost, which Annabeth unfortunately picked up on. "You do know what Doric style is, don't you?"

Adam nodded again. "Yeah, yeah, I got you."

"Really." Annabeth looked skeptical, but before she could say anything she might regret, Percy stepped in.

"Hey, he can call if he has any questions. We have to get back to the office, we have a conference call with the interior designer from Paris in an hour." He said, praying she wouldn't turn her wrath on him. She nodded slowly, Percy sighing internally with relief.

"Okay," She said slowly. "You'll call?" She asked Adam. He nodded, giving her a thumbs up. Percy winced, knowing this would make her even more upset, but she let it go luckily.

He waved at the construction team as they left, still feeling a little bad. Annabeth muttered next to him about the idiots that were in London and about how her team in New York was so much better. Percy ignored her. Annabeth could probably find an issue with a rock.

They were halfway to London when she finally spoke up. "Sorry." She said quietly.

"For?" Percy prompted.

"Being absolutely nuts today." She said, sighing and leaning her head back. "It's just been a long week."

"Yeah, same." Percy said, and he saw her wince out of the corner of his eye. He instantly felt bad, but then thought better of it. If she didn't want to see him in pain, then she could have done something to prevent that. He couldn't help himself though, the words tumbling out of his mouth meant only to make her feel better. "I mean, there's so many things going on with work, and Grover is on my ass about going out with him and Leo. Just a lot going on."

"Yeah." She whispered. "I'm sorry, Percy." She said, louder this time, and Percy though the heard the slightest bit of… sadness? Wistfulness? It couldn't have been though, because she was the one who had ended it.

"It's okay." He murmured quietly, and she didn't respond. Maybe she had fallen asleep, maybe she just was done talking to him. Whatever the reason was, Percy immediately missed her voice. He missed all of her, he realized, and every minute he spent next to her, here with her but not _with_ her made his body ache and his head hurt.

-0-

The news came at probably the worst time. He had gone to a bar that night with Grover and Leo. One good thing about being single now; he could get drunk whenever he wanted. He was three drinks in, and well past buzzed. They were joking around, when Percy spotted a blonde girl over in the corner dancing. It wasn't Annabeth. Annabeth's curls were a little fuller, and she was a little taller with better curves, but this girl would have to do. Funny, he was always attracted to brunettes until he had met Annabeth.

He was glad for the chance to go out with his two best friends tonight. They had been pestering him about it ever since he had broken up with Annabeth, but he hadn't found the time. Well, actually it had more to do with how he didn't want to get out of bed, but he had told them it was because he was busy. They were at his favorite club, Heaven, and wow did he need this. Their beer was also really good, so that was a bonus.

Anyways, Percy was just about to make his move because gods he felt like getting laid tonight, when Grover and Leo told him something he never wanted to here ever again.

"We're going on a trip together." Grover said, cautiously. The trip part wasn't bad. They had been to the beach, Scotland, lots of places together. It was what Leo said next.

"With, um, Thalia's friends." Leo muttered and Percy froze.

"You mean Annabeth." He snapped, and immediately felt bad when Leo shrunk back. It wasn't their fault.

"Yeah, and the rest of her friends. We had been planning it as a surprise for the two of you since you've been working so hard, but that was before…" Grover trailed off, but it was obvious what he was talking about. Before Annabeth broke up with him.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked, sighing and leaning his head in his hand.

"That cabin out by Gillingham. The one we went to last year for your birthday. There's plenty of bedrooms, and its huge so I'm sure you and Annabeth can avoid each other." Leo said, taking a drink of his beer.

"So we'll be stuck in the middle of nowhere with them." Percy groaned.

"They're nice people." Leo defended. "Cali and Juniper are going too."

"Great." Percy said sarcastically. "The more the merrier."

Grover and Leo exchanged looks, but didn't say anything. Percy looked around for that blonde girl but she was nowhere to be found. Damn.

So, instead of getting laid, Percy took the opportunity to knock back a few more beers and shots. Before he knew it, Percy was wasted drunk. So drunk, that he barely made it out to the Uber, stumbling along with Grover and Leo's support.

"Why did she leave me?" He slurred, his foot catching on a loose stone. "I didn't do anything."

"Perce, let's just get you home, okay?" Leo said, glancing behind his back to give Grover an exasperated look.

"I'm not blind." He grumbled, and could tell Leo and Grover were trying not to laugh. They successfully pushed him into the car, and they were off. Somewhere in the back of Percy's mind it dawned on him how massively pissed off Annabeth was going to be tomorrow morning when he couldn't get out of bed until ten and they were supposed to meet at nine, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. As soon as he leaned his head back, he passed out to the faint smell of cigarette smoke wafting down the dirty London streets.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Annabeth

Annabeth had been in a terrible mood for longer than a week now, and she knew it was getting on her friend's nerves, but she couldn't bring herself to care. It was like she was consistently PMSing all day long.

It was the weekend, a well needed break for Annabeth. Percy had pissed her off in all kinds of new ways this past week. He had come in at 10:30 on Tuesday, totally hungover and he couldn't even get out a coherent sentence without feeling nauseous. Then, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday had consisted of a new whore he had brought in to the office that morning. Annabeth would show up at nine, and have to listen to the sounds of them fucking for at least ten minutes before she even dared to set foot in his office.

Just yesterday, she had had the unwelcome sight of a blonde girl with boobs three times the natural size, walking around Percy's chair with a whip. Gross. If he really was into that stuff, they definitely couldn't be together, because that totally turned Annabeth off.

Whatever. Who Percy slept with was none of her business, but it was her business when it was interrupting their work ethic. She had been planning on telling him this on Friday, and setting him straight, but the slut stayed later than normal, and they had work to do instead of arguing for an hour.

On top of all that, she had found out her friends had been planning a surprise getaway to Gillingham for her and Percy, a treat for working so hard. A week ago, it would have been sweet, but now Annabeth would rather do anything other than go on this stupid trip. Unfortunately, they couldn't cancel, and Annabeth wasn't sure they would if they could. Her friends were excited.

"We're only going to be in London once in our lives, Annabeth!" Piper had squealed.

"We're seeing as much as we can." Frank insisted, so Annabeth sighed and didn't put up too much of a fight.

The worst came when she realized she had absolutely no clothes to wear on this excursion. She brought the fact up to Piper and Hazel, who immediately said they needed to go shopping. Annabeth had protested, and was brought to the mall against her will.

"I don't need the mall." She whined. "I need my sweatshirts from back home, and my tennis shoes."

"All things we can buy at a mall." Hazel said with finality. Annabeth was not getting out of this.

The mall was busy, which wasn't surprising for a Saturday. They stopped in Nike, and bought her a pair of black running shoes, a pair of leggings and a couple tank tops.

"Sweatshirts next." Piper said, dragging her to the Adidas store, where apparently they had better sweatshirts than Nike. Piper and Hazel ran around, finding her everything she could possibly need to go on a beach trip. Luckily, all Annabeth really had to do was swipe her credit card.

"So," Piper said, a little too easy-going, and Annabeth glanced at her with a worried expression. They were in the dressing room, Annabeth trying on clothes after clothes. She did have to say, the joggers they had picked out were pretty cute. "What's going on with you and Percy, anyway?" Piper asked.

"Nothing. I broke up with him." Annabeth said, trying on a t-shirt.

"Really." Piper said, with an unbelieving look in her eyes. "Miss I'm so in love, just suddenly decided to dump her perfect boyfriend, who, may I mention, was – is, your soulmate."

Annabeth sighed. She needed to tell the truth at some point. Besides, maybe it would help to get it off her chest. "Okay, you guys can't tell anybody." She looked at them pointedly, and they both nodded. "Seriously." She added.

Hazel nodded vigorously. "We won't"

"Okay." Annabeth sighed, pulling on a pair of sweats. "My mom called me, that night before dinner. The one where I didn't show up." They nodded, waiting for Annabeth to continue. "She was… pissed, to say the least, that I was dating him. She wanted me to break it off – I said no, of course, but she threatened my job. Said I was going to be demoted, and I couldn't let that happen, you know. I mean, this is my career, and Percy is a guy I met a month ago. I just…" Annabeth faltered, feeling tears stream down her face. She wiped at them, trying her best to get it together.

Piper grabbed her hand, and pulled her onto the small fitting room bench with them. "You can have both, Annabeth." She said quietly.

"How?" Annabeth whimpered. Gods, this was so stupid. She was not the crying, blubbering idiot, she was Annabeth Chase for fuck's sake. "Even if I tried to tell him the truth, I've said some pretty hurtful things, you guys. It's not that easy."

Hazel rubbed her back. "It's okay. Look, if you and Percy really are soulmates, you'll work it out."

"Exactly!" Piper exclaimed. "Who cares what your mom says, she's all talk anyway. You have to fight for love!" Piper said with a little grin, and Annabeth and Hazel burst out laughing.

"Gods, you're ridiculous sometimes." Annabeth said with a smile. "For right now, things aren't going to change." Piper and Hazel nodded, and Annabeth shook her head, hoping they weren't about to plan some ridiculous scheme to get her and Percy back together. They finished up at the Adidas store, and headed out, Annabeth feeling lighter than she had in at least a week.

-0-

Work was horrible. Awful. Boring. Stupid. Never had Annabeth ever hated going to work so much as she had this week. Percy and she were distant, only talking when they needed to compare notes. They had more meetings than normal, and Annabeth hated them. They were possibly the most boring thing in this world.

Luckily, Percy had stopped bringing in a whore every day, but he still reeked of alcohol. She had started coming in at ten, because Percy barely showed up before then, and even when he managed that, he couldn't formulate a complete sentence.

It was the Thursday before they left, and Percy and Annabeth were leading a board meeting. He was seated at one end, her on the other. Usually, she didn't sit in on private office meetings, but they were going to talk about their progress on Zeus' building. Percy was in a good mood today, considering everything that had happened.

"We were thinking about adding in a sun room, right off the kitchen, maybe as a sort of breakfast room." He started, glancing around the room and earning a few approving nods. Annabeth leaned back, letting him take charge. It wasn't often she did this, but this was his company, not hers.

It only lasted an hour, but it might as well have been a whole day it was so boring. People filtered out, and Annabeth waited while Percy shut off the projector and put away the pointer.

"That went well." Percy sighed, stifling a yawn.

"Yeah." She agreed with a short nod. "The sun room was a hit."

"Told you." He said with a little grin, and she let out a laugh, momentarily forgetting she was mad at him.

"Hey, who was that guy sitting next to me?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

"A new guy, Mason. He came over from another firm, why?" Percy asked.

"Nothing." She shook her head. "He just kept looking at me, and I was wondering if I knew him from somewhere."

"Yeah, I noticed." Percy rolled his eyes. "It wasn't a, 'I know you from somewhere look'."

"What do you mean?" She asked, because it was a little creepy and a lot weird how many times she had caught him looking at her.

Percy gave her a disbelieving look. "You really don't know?"

"No." Annabeth said, crossing her arms. "Tell me."

Percy raised his eyebrows, and grinned. "It was a, I wish nobody was in here so I could bend you over this table and fuck you look, Annabeth."

Annabeth blushed, hard. "Percy!"

He shrugged. "What? It's true."

Annabeth sighed, trying to force the blush away. "Whatever. We still have a few things to go over, so let's head back to your office for a little, and-" She was about to say they needed to work on the structure of the top floor, but he cut her off.

"Annabeth." He said gently. "It's almost seven." He pointed out, her stomach grumbling in agreement. "Go home, get some food. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Percy, we have so much work." She protested. "We're on a tight deadline, and I plan on being back in New York as soon as possible." He winced when she brought up her hometown, but she ignored it.

Percy chuckled. "It's gonna be okay, I promise. Besides, you must have packing to do. I haven't even started."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Perce, I finished yesterday morning."

Percy gave her a grin. "Of course you did."

She sighed, giving in. "Okay, okay, I'll go home. Just promise me we'll hit the ground running next week. We have a lot to do in less than six weeks."

The grin on Percy's face hadn't left, amusement filling his green orbs. "Of course, Ms. Chase. Wouldn't dream of anything else." Annabeth rolled her eyes again, but she was laughing, and pretty soon he had joined her.

Maybe it was the stress, the lost sleep, their fucked up situation, but they found themselves bracing against the blue walls of his office, holding their stomachs as they were lost in giggles. Annabeth caught her breath, turning her head to look at him and – Shit they were close. Literally, lips almost touching close. Annabeth's breath caught in her throat, her stomach dropped to the ground, and Percy looked like a caged animal, eyes flashing with an emotion Annabeth couldn't place.

Before she could think about what she was doing, she leaned forward, just slightly, feeling his chapped lips brush against hers, and she was about to reach out and fist his work shirt in her hands, but he pushed her back. "Stop." He said, harsh. Annabeth stumbled back, a little disoriented.

"Percy." She managed to croak out, but he was shaking his head.

"Just, stop." He pleaded. "You can't… we can't do this. You can't do this."

"I know." She whispered, nodding, but she didn't move from her spot.

"Leave." He said, adding a please after a moment. Annabeth nodded again, swinging her work bag over her shoulder, and despite every bone in her body telling her to turn back around, she kept walking, holding her head as high as she possibly could at that moment.

-0-

They were packing up the SUV the next morning, everybody chattering excitedly about their little vacation. Luckily, Percy and his friends were driving up separately, so she wouldn't have to spend a whole care ride with the awkward tension.

What had she been thinking? She couldn't play with his feelings like that. It wasn't fair, to him or her, but in the back of her mind she knew she wanted to be with him. Her body ached when she wasn't around him, and worse when she was and couldn't touch him. A part of her wondered if she had made the wrong decision. Work was… just that. Work. Percy was a whole other thing. A life, a life she knew she had always wanted, but she had never let herself go there, never let herself dream about something that seemed so far away.

Now, though, with Percy so close, she could almost taste it. A perfect beach wedding, a honeymoon in Greece. Three kids, two boys and a girl, just like she had always wanted. A penthouse on the Upper West Side, living well below their means because they didn't want to raise spoiled children. Allowing herself that fancy mom car she had always dreamed of. Breakfasts in bed, soccer practices, dance recitals.

It was crazy, since she had just met him, but it had all seemed so possible with him. He was… perfect. Okay, well maybe not, but he was for Annabeth, and that's all that mattered.

Annabeth shook her head, trying to clear those thoughts. That wouldn't ever happen. She had ruined it. "I'll drive." She volunteered, interrupting the argument between Jason and Frank about who was the better driver. All four of them turned to stare at her.

"What?" Frank asked.

"Um, I'll drive." She said, looking at them like they were weird. They were staring at her like she had just dropped from outer space. "Besides, it'll be kind of therapeutic."

Nobody answered, until Piper stepped up. "Okay! Glad that's settled. Should we go?" She seemed to break everybody out of their trance, and they clambered in the vehicle, silly little arguments resuming. Piper sat shotgun with her, plugging some throwback playlist she had made with an eclectic mix of Beyoncé, R&B, pop and alternative. It was mostly Beyoncé, but Annabeth didn't mind. She drummed on the steering wheel, singing along with her best friends while cruising down an English highway. It didn't take long before she had completely forgotten about her problems with Percy, the loud music drowning out her own thoughts.

 **Hey! This chapter is a little early, but it was fun to write so it was kind of hard to stop and focus on the homework I have been avoiding. Don't worry, Percabeth is definitely coming back in the next few chapters, and with that some mature scenes, so this is your warning.**

 **Also, Country Life will be updated at some point this weekend, and I have decided for my other story, The First Season, I'll update on Tuesday's. I have the next nine chapters for that already written, so for a while the updates should be consistent. If you haven't gone and checked those out, please do!**

 **Let me know what you think!**

 **-a**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Percy

The cabin – or mansion, in reality – was exactly as Percy remembered it. A grand entrance with the living room directly in front of the foyer. There were two "lofts" off to the right and left, and a kitchen and dining room downstairs. The best room was downstairs, though. A master, with a California king, and a two-person bathtub overlooking the grey waves. He and Rachel had spent the weekend there the last time they had come out here, and the thought started to bring back painful memories.

"We call the red room!" Leo yelled, grabbing Calypso's hand and dragging her up the stairs to the left loft, with Grover and Juniper following close behind. There were two other rooms in the right loft, where he assumed Annabeth and her friends would sleep. He could take the master; he felt like he deserved that much.

After he and his friends got settled in, they pulled out the cocktail shaker, mixing up different drinks. Percy was determined to at least get a buzz before Annabeth got here.

"Hey, will somebody unload the groceries?" Grover asked, pulling out the vodka from a bag.

"Got it." Percy said, bringing the cooler over to the fridge and taking out the massive amounts of food they had to bring to feed ten people. He was in the middle of putting the burger meat in the freezer when Annabeth and her friends walked in.

"I think they're having a kid soon." Piper said, going on about something they were obviously talking about in the car. "I think – Oh, wow." She breathed, and Percy grinned, turning around to face them.

"Nice place, huh." He said. "The two rooms upstairs on the right are open, help yourself."

"Two?" Annabeth's voice squeaked.

"Yeah, what's the problem?" He asked, turning back to the task at hand.

"Well, I'm not sleeping on the couch." She snapped, as her friends started up the stairs. He noticed Piper and Hazel both giving her the 'behave' look, but Percy ignored them, the problem finally dawning on him. Two rooms. Two couples, plus Annabeth. He and Annabeth were the fifth couple.

He rubbed his neck, slowly turning around. "Oh, shit." He said, glancing at her warily. She looked stressed and tired, and the only indicator that she was angry was the tone of her voice. He sighed, "I'll sleep on the couch. Just let me grab my stuff from the room."

Annabeth nodded, and followed him into the back. He started to pack up his stuff, grabbing the clothes he had already splayed across the room with a nervous chuckle.

He heard Annabeth let out a small laugh behind him. "Not even here an hour, and you managed to make a mess." Percy gave her a weak grin, and Annabeth shook her head. Her blonde curls were slightly frizzy, and she was dressed in leggings and a sweatshirt. She looked cute, but even Percy could see the sloppy attempt at covering up the fact that she probably hadn't slept well in days.

She wandered over to the bathroom, and he heard a little gasp. "This is…" She trailed off, poking her head back out.

Percy nodded. "It's awesome."

"Yeah." She breathed, running her hand over the stone on the wall. "Look at the detail." She said, marveling at the designs etched into the floor. Her eyes found the bathtub, and she frowned. "Who needs that much room?" She asked out loud, and Percy blushed.

"Umm." He stammered, and she turned to look at him, realization dawning on her face.

"Oh," She blushed hard, "Oh, right."

"Yeah," Percy said, running a hand through his hair. "I should go, let you get settled in. We're grilling burgers today, for dinner."

Annabeth nodded, giving him a tight smile. Percy went to leave, her back turned to him as she started to get out her makeup and whatever else girls had to bring on weekend long trips, but something made him stop.

"Hey." He called out, taking a huge chance. This most likely would end up in yelling, but something was bothering Percy. "Are you… okay?"

Annabeth turned to face him, letting out a dry laugh. "Of course." She said, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Percy gave her a look. "You clearly haven't slept in days, Annabeth. What's wrong?"

Annabeth's eyes flashed with anger, but there was no fire behind them. "Look, Percy, I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. It's not your place to worry about me." She said, pulling her hair up into a messy bun.

Percy put up a hand in defense, and left without another word. No need to start a fight less than an hour in. He grabbed the spare blanket and spread it out over the massive couch. The smell of fresh cooked burgers wafted through the air, and Percy inhaled it gratefully. Even if this was probably about to be the worst vacation of his life, at least it was vacation.

"Ten minutes until burgers are ready!" Leo yelled from the grill. Piper wiped off her wet hands from washing the dishes, and went to go tell Annabeth. No doubt they were about to have some long conversation about him. Girls were weird that way.

Percy grabbed the plates, and started to set the table. Jason came up beside him, setting down the wine glasses. Percy really wasn't sure where he and Jason stood. He knew Jason was extremely protective of Annabeth, and he didn't know what story Annabeth told them after they broke up.

"Look," Jason said, startling Percy out of his thoughts. "I know things have been… awkward after everything with Annabeth, but she was the happiest I've ever seen her those couple weeks she was with you. I'm not sure what you did wrong, or what she did, and I honestly don't care. I just want her to be happy, so I think you should talk to her."

Percy's head was spinning. "Talk to her," He paused. "You do know Annabeth broke up with me, right?" He asked, looking at Jason incredulously.

Jason chuckled, pouring the red wine into an empty cup. "I know. I just think there might be something else. Just try, okay?"

Percy nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, sure." Jason nodded once, then turned his attention to the kitchen.

"Frank!" He called. "Grab the ketchup." He said, wandering back towards his girlfriend who had emerged from Annabeth's room – minus Annabeth.

Leo brought out a huge plate of meat, and Grover followed close behind with the toppings. Juniper and Calypso came down from their rooms, giggling and laughing about something. The nine of them sat down, Annabeth's empty seat glaring at him from across the room. Percy shook his head, grabbing a burger and digging in. Conversation started up; Leo drew smiley faces in ketchup, Juniper and Grover updated everyone on wedding planning. It was nice, sitting here with all of them, but he couldn't help but worry about Annabeth in the back of his mind.

She came out a few minutes later, her eyes tinged red like she had been crying. Nobody said a word, and Piper grabbed her hand comfortingly. "So," Annabeth started, "What did I miss?" Annabeth asked with a little smile, grabbing the last burger left. People started to talk again, and she smiled politely, listened. Percy locked eyes with her multiple times, but she looked away every time, a pained expression in them. He started to wonder if Jason was right, that there was something more to what happened between them.

-0-

It was slightly past midnight. Percy was tipsy, but not as drunk as a few of them. They had played a drinking game and watched some trashy movie after their judgement was long gone. Annabeth had basically ignored him the rest of the night. She wasn't quiet. She looked like she was having a good time, which almost made it worse. Percy wanted to have a good time _with_ her.

Gods, his mind should shut up. He sounded like a whiny little kid who wanted his toy back.

He eventually fell into a dreamless sleep. Or he thought he had fallen asleep, for at least an hour. The couch was kind of squishy, and Percy was sunken in. The crack made it feel like his body was folding in half. In other words, it wasn't comfortable.

He jolted awake to the sound of a small crash. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, looking towards the kitchen. Annabeth was smiling sheepishly, holding a cracked mug. She looked absolutely adorable in little cotton shorts and a tight white tank top. Her hair was mussed, and her lips a cherry red. Percy could feel himself getting turned on, and gods that was annoying. She was just standing there, but something about her tiny shorts, or the way she looked perfectly undone… it was hot.

"Sorry." She whispered. "Were you asleep?" She asked as she put the remnants of the coffee mug in the trash.

"Uh, yeah." Percy said, the words coming out harsher than he meant them too. "Sorry, it's okay. I wasn't sleeping well anyway."

Annabeth gave a ghost of a smile. "Nightmares?" She asked, smirking.

Percy rolled his eyes, laughing. "No, the couch is surprisingly uncomfortable." He said, wandering over to her and grabbing another mug for her from the cupboard. She gave a slight wince, and Percy shook his head. "Not your fault." He said quickly. "It's our crazy friends. 'We have enough bedrooms'" He said, giving a bad imitation of Grover's face.

Annabeth giggled. "'It won't be awkward.'" She said, in some high pitch version of Piper. They burst into a fit of laughter, until they ended up two inches away from each other and Annabeth froze up.

Percy cleared his throat. "Here," He said softy, "Let me get you some decaf."

Annabeth nodded in thanks, and pushed herself up on the counter, legs dangling. He made the coffee, just how she liked it.

Percy wandered back over to her, handing her the steaming cup. She smiled. "You remembered."

Percy chuckled lowly. "Of course I did." She smiled wider, swinging her legs. They were close, and every time Annabeth kicked her little foot out it brushed Percy's hip.

"Look, Annabeth." He started, taking a deep breath before continuing, Jason's words ringing in his head. If anything, he trusted Jason to know what Annabeth was thinking. Those five were close. "Is there… more too why you broke up with me? I mean, everything was so, so awesome, and then boom, we were over. It wasn't even a distraction, we were working better than ever." He paused, watching her facial expression stay stony straight. "I think I deserve at least an explanation." He said quietly, not meeting her eyes.

Annabeth took a shaky breath, not speaking for two seconds, even though it felt like a year. "You do." She said simply, and Percy waited for her to continue. "I… It wasn't you. Okay? I don't want you to think it was ever you, because those two weeks were some of the best of my life." Her eyes brimmed with tears, and Percy stepped closer. She allowed her legs to open slightly, letting him in. "My mom, she said some things. Threatened me, you, everybody." Annabeth sniffled, a tear streaming down her cheek. She laughed wryly. "Sorry, I usually don't…"

"Hey," He said, placing a tentative hand on her thigh. He felt her stiffen beneath him, but she relaxed and didn't say a word. "It's okay."

Annabeth nodded. "She's just a fucking bitch." She said, and the look on Percy's face must have been pretty hilarious because she burst out laughing the second she looked up at him. "Sorry, but it's true. That's why, though. You're explanation. I'm can't tell you what she said, and we still can't be together, but…" She trailed off, looking up at him with sleepy eyes and coffee breath.

"Thank you." He whispered, and she nodded. They stayed like that for a while, staring at each other. Percy still had one hand on her thigh, and he could tell she was starting to shiver underneath him. "We should get some sleep." He said, but his body betrayed him. He didn't move, and started to stroke the bare skin of her thigh slightly with his thumb. Annabeth bit her lip, but didn't say anything again.

His hand traveled upwards, but she put a hand on his wrist. "Percy." She said, breathless. "Sleep."

He nodded, forcing himself to step away. Annabeth hopped down, heading back towards her room. "Night." He called out quietly to her. She gave him a little wave, and disappeared, shutting the door behind her.

Percy sighed, and started to get back under his measly blanket. His mind was spinning with happiness, joy, whatever he was feeling to know that he hadn't fucked it all up when he heard her door open again.

"Percy?" He heard Annabeth's voice call out timidly, more vulnerable than he had ever heard her before.

"Yeah?" He said, sitting up again to find Annabeth at the back of the couch, her arms wrapped around her like she was cold, despite all the fireplaces burning out around them.

"Um," She stuttered, rubbing her arms. "The bed's huge. In there, I mean. You're not going to get any sleep out here, so if you want too… I mean, if you're comfortable, you can come in." She said, her voice getting quieter with every word.

Percy tried to stop the smile from spreading on his face. "Are you sure?" He asked, hesitantly.

Annabeth nodded, giving him a little smile. "I'm sure. Come on, I don't bite."

Percy grinned, and got up, following after her like a lost puppy. Annabeth had her fireplace going, the blue silk sheets already pulled back and slept in. Her bathroom door was wide open, and he could smell the scent of roses and cleanliness, like she had just taken a bubble bath.

He watched as she snuggled in, pulling the covers up to her chin. "Coming?" She asked, and he nodded, crawling into bed next to her. He was suddenly very aware of the limited amount of clothing they had on – him with no shirt and low riding sweats that were surely showing off his boxers, and her with those shorts that killed him every time she wore them.

They lay there, eyes towards the ceiling. He wasn't sure how they got so close. He didn't feel like he was moving over, but there they were, suddenly pressed together in the middle of the bed. He felt her reach out a tentative finger, grabbing his hand in hers, and Percy inhaled sharply.

Annabeth squeezed his hand once. "Goodnight, Percy." She said quietly, then turned on her side to face him, eyes squeezed shut.

Percy smiled softly, brushing away a stray hair that was hanging in her face. "Goodnight." He whispered, turning on his side to face her, the image of her beautiful face appearing in his dreams.


	17. Chapter 17

Warning - a lemon appears in this chapter.

Chapter 17

Annabeth woke up in fear. She was fine for a second. Stretching, enjoying the warmth of the arms wrapped around her as the winter sun shone through the windows. Then, she freaked out. Who was in her bed? She squeaked and kicked with her foot, and then watched as Percy Jackson rubbed the back of his head and looked at her with annoyance.

"Sorry!" She squeaked, then turned red from embarrassment at her voice crack.

"S'okay." Percy said, smiling slightly. "Do you want to shower first, or should I?"

"You can." Annabeth said, her voice thankfully back to normal. "You're the one already out of bed." She said, laughing and snuggling back under the covers.

Percy rolled his eyes, but he looked amused. "Good morning, Annabeth."

"Morning." Annabeth said softly, memories of their whirlwind two week romance popping back into her head. Was it possible to fall in love in two weeks? Because Annabeth sure felt like she did.

She watched as Percy walked into the bathroom and shut the door, scratching his head on the way like he used to do on all those mornings. She waited until she heard the water turn on before she allowed herself a happy little smile. Annabeth even let out a laugh, which was so unlike her she covered her mouth almost immediately after.

Percy was out in five minutes. "All yours."

Annabeth showered and got ready, put on her maroon silk robe, not bothering with makeup. She could hear voices ringing out from the kitchen, and the smell of fresh cooked bacon wafted through the air, making her stomach grumble.

-0-

"Beach walk." Piper announced after everybody had finished their breakfast. Percy's leg was still interlocked with hers, and the stirring pit in Annabeth's stomach was making it hard to focus. They had been all over each other during breakfast, hands on thighs, feet running up their bare skin.

"We should clean up the kitchen first." Frank said. "It's a wreck."

"I can do that." Percy said. "I didn't help with breakfast." He shot Annabeth a look.

"Yeah, I can stay behind and help." Annabeth said, and she tried to ignore all the smirks and glances they were getting.

"So, is the kitchen going to be cleaner when we get back or…" Leo said, raising his eyebrows, and Annabeth blushed.

"Leo, lay off." Calypso said, smacking her boyfriend's arm.

Leo chuckled. "Just asking."

The other eight put on their shoes, and headed out the door. Annabeth and Percy locked eyes, his gaze so intense that Annabeth didn't know whether to stay or run.

"So," She started, clearing her throat. "Should we grab the-" Annabeth didn't get to finish her sentence. His lips were on hers not even a minute after everybody left. Annabeth let out a desperate whimper as he slipped his tongue down her throat, not even putting up a fight.

"Fuck." She whispered as they came up for air, pulling him down again with a tight grasp of his silk hair. She was on his lap now, grinding her hips down on him and she could feel his moan, muffled by her lips. He grabbed her ass, pushed a plate to the ground, and set her where he had just eaten breakfast.

"Percy," Annabeth gasped as he trailed hot kisses down her stomach. "The plate."

"Don't care." He murmured, shoving her robe up roughly to find her pantiless. "Holy shit. You weren't wearing any…" He trailed off, looking up at Annabeth, who was writhing on the table, freshly washed hair now on somebody's messy plate.

"No, gods, do something." Annabeth said, raising her hips.

Percy obliged, swallowing her in a kiss as he pushed into her, slow at first, then faster as she clawed at his back, wanting, needing him to go harder. His hands gripped her hips, a thumb reaching over and fluttering her bundle of nerves.

Annabeth arched her back off the table, whimpering as her climax came near. His thrusts were erratic, and she knew he was close.

He came with a groan, her right behind him. They slowed, their fast breath the only noise in the room.

"Shower?" He asked as he found his voice.

Annabeth nodded, unable to form words yet, and he picked her up, locking their lips again. Her legs wrapped tighter around his waist as they slammed into walls, finding their destination.

-0-

Annabeth laughed as Percy wrapped his hands around her waist as she stood at the sink, washing a champagne glass. "Percy, they're going to be back soon. Clean." She said, twisting so she could give him a kiss.

"You're boring." He complained, planting kisses along the side of her neck.

Annabeth removed his hands from her waist. "Clean." She repeated.

He groaned. "Fine, fine." He said as he went back to clearing the table.

Ten minutes later, the kitchen was sparkling clean and their friends were walking in the door with laughter.

"Hi!" Piper said, coming over to Annabeth. "We were thinking about having a girl's day, there's a spa about a half hour away."

"I'd love that." Annabeth said, smiling. "I just need to put real clothes on." She laughed, still in that morning's robe - well, she put it back on.

"Of course. Your normal facial and massage?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Annabeth said, wandering back into her room. She put on a navy blue shift crepe dress and gold drop earrings.

"You ready?" Hazel's voice came through the door.

"Yeah." Annabeth said, "Two secs."

Five minutes later her, Hazel, Piper, Calypso and Juniper were piled into the SUV they Annabeth had rented for the trip. Annabeth drove, with Piper sitting shotgun to give directions.

"So, you got back together with him?" She asked as Annabeth merged onto the freeway.

"What? No, of course not." Annabeth protested, even though she wasn't sure why she felt the need to lie.

Piper was onto her, though. "You just had sex." She said simply.

"Piper!" Hazel squealed from the backseat. "Not everybody is comfortable picturing their best friend's like that."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Well, she did. She's got, like, the glow."

Annabeth laughed, rolling her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous."

"You can't deny it." Piper, said laughing.

"I'm not." Annabeth said. "Doesn't mean we're back together."

"Mhmm." Piper said, scrolling through her phone to find another song. "Exit in ten miles."

"Did you ever… get the official test back?" Annabeth asked, knowing she was treading on thin ice.

Piper sighed. "Yeah, I'm pregnant."

Annabeth took her hand. "You're going to be a great mom." She said, and Piper smiled at her gratefully. "Push the wedding back if you want. It's your day."

"Wait, you are?" Calypso asked. "Congratulations!"

Piper smiled. "Thanks, it's not ideal, but Annabeth's right. We can push the wedding back."

"In the end, though, you'll have kids forever. Your wedding is just one day." Hazel said.

"You're right, you're right." Piper said, sighing. "I kind of hope it's a boy. I've always wanted my girl to be the youngest."

Annabeth laughed. "What does Jason think?"

"He wants a girl. _Just like you._ " She said, mimicking Jason's voice and laughing. "Jesus, boys are the worst romantics sometimes." The girls laughed as Annabeth pulled into the resort.

"Hi." The valet said. "Are you guys staying here, or here just for the day?"

"Just the spa." Annabeth said.

"Okay, great. You can follow the signs for the spa, there will be somebody available to take your car down there."

"Great, thank you." Annabeth said, and drove down the hotel roads.

They parked the car, and walked in. "Hi!" The front desk lady said. "Do you five have appointments?"

"Yeah, under Piper." Piper said.

"Okay, great. Five facials and five massages with our soaking pool add-on?" She asked.

Piper nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, if you guys could just pay first, we'll have you on your way." She said.

Annabeth pulled out her card. "They're on me." She said, passing her debit to the lady.

"A, no." Piper protested.

"Yes." She said firmly. "Don't worry about it." She said, smiling.

Thanks were murmured as the lady swiped her card. "Okay!" She said. "Here are your robes, no shoes allowed once you get changed. Enjoy!"

"Thank you." Annabeth said, and they made their way to the dressing room.

They changed quickly, and headed out into the lounge where a few other people were reading magazines and sipping champagne. They were handed a glass, and were called back one by one.

"Have you had a massage before?" Her masseuse asked.

"Yeah, I have." Annabeth said.

"Okay, great. Just let me know if the stones are too hot." She said as Annabeth settled in, closing her eyes and enjoying the hour. She moved on to the hydrating facial, letting her mind wander as she was pampered. Eventually, the two hours was over and they changed into their bathing suits to go into the soaking pool.

"Aren't you guys leaving soon?" Juniper asked, settling into the warm water.

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, Sunday next weekend. The house is almost done, we're furnishing it right now."

"And Percy will…" Calypso trailed off.

"Yeah, he's on the flight back with us." Annabeth said.

Piper rolled her eyes. "They booked themselves first class."

Annabeth shoved her friend playfully. "I didn't book those!" She protested, Hazel laughing.

Thirty minutes later, they were shriveled and thoroughly soaked. The drive back to the house was quiet, and when they got there they could smell food cooking.

Percy was at the stove, mixing the sauce together for the pasta. The rest of her friends were in the living room, and the girls went to join them. Annabeth wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder. "Smells good." She whispered.

He grinned, turning around to give her a kiss. "My famous bolognese."

Annabeth laughed. "How come I've never had it?"  
"Well, if you had stuck around longer…" He teased.

Annabeth slapped him, rolling her eyes. "Noted." She said, but she was laughing.

"Here." He said. "You stir, I have to drain the pasta."

Annabeth took the spoon hesitantly. "I'm the worst cook ever, just so you know."

Percy chuckled. "Everybody can stir."

Annabeth smiled. "Don't jinx it." He came back, giving her another kiss before taking the spoon back from her. "Percy." She said quietly. "When we get back to New York, we can't… this has to be secret."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I know." He said, wrapping an arm around her. "Now, can I teach you how to make bolognese?"

Annabeth laughed. "Gladly."

"Okay." He said, starting to give her directions. She snuggled deeper into her side, wanting to savor the moment. Who knows when they were going to have one this peaceful again.

 **Hi! Sorry, it has been almost two months (I didn't even realize) since I updated! I started writing a couple other stories, and just got absorbed in those. I am updating the First Season today, and then I'm starting a new story, and the first chapter will be up today so go check it out!**

 **This story only has a few chapters left, plus an epilogue. Enjoy and review!**

 **-a**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Percy

Too soon, their time in London came to an end. Annabeth had spent about four or five days a week at his apartment. Zeus' home was finished, and Percy found himself wondering how Annabeth ever got anything finished. She found so many issues with the end product, Percy wasn't sure they would ever leave.

"Does this wood look slightly different to you?" Annabeth asked, nudging Percy out of his bored daze. They had been inspecting the house for over four hours, and he was wishing he was anywhere but here right now - he had even considered death.

"No." Percy insisted. "Annabeth come on, the house is perfect." He groaned, running his hands through his hair.

She shot him a look. "The next bedroom, please." She said, turning to the interior designer. They wandered for another half hour through the house, Annabeth stopping to move a plant slightly twice, withholding herself from yelling at their interior designer at least four times, and finding about thirty nonexistent problems.

Eventually, after they passed the house off to Zeus (who loved it), Annabeth leaned back in the leather seat of his Mercedes.

"I guess we have to leave tomorrow." Annabeth sighed, shutting her eyes. She had dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep they were getting. They were either working, eating or fucking, and it probably wasn't very healthy.

"Is that what this was all about today?" He asked, taking her hand.

She glanced at him from the passenger seat, playing with his fingers. "I guess." She murmured.

He squeezed her hand. "We'll figure it out, okay?"

She just nodded, leaning back again. "Yeah."

Sixteen hours later, they were on a plane to New York for the next two months. Percy had held off on booking a hotel. Annabeth had agreed to let him stay with her, but on a "day to day basis."

"Sir?" The flight attendant asked, coming around to business class as soon as the plane took off. "Fresh orange juice?" She said, smiling down at him. Percy took it, and took one for Annabeth since she had her headphones in and was already logged onto the wifi, working away. "More refreshments will be on their way shortly." The brunette flight attendant said with that weird smile.

Percy groaned, popped a sleeping pill and laid his head down on Annabeth's shoulder, hoping to get some sleep.

-0-

Annabeth let out a sigh of relief, throwing back her head as they headed out into the polluted New York air. "Home." She said, smiling. "Come on, I'll hail us a taxi." She said to Percy. They had just said goodbye to Annabeth's friends, who had loaded themselves into separate taxis, each going their own way.

Percy kissed her temple. "Sounds good." He said.

Annabeth stuck out her arm, and a taxi pulled over within seconds.

"Evening, ma'am." The guy said with a thick accent of some kind Percy couldn't place. "Where to?"  
"435 W 31st St." Annabeth said. "Manhattan." She added.

"Right away." The driver said, pulling out into traffic without even looking.

The drive took almost an hour since they were right in the middle of rush hour. The taxi driver didn't seem fazed though, swerving in and out of traffic without even a glance into his blindspot. Percy was feeling lucky to be alive when they pulled up at Annabeth's fancy modern high rise.

"Thank you." Annabeth said, handing him a few twenties to cover the cost. The doorman opened the door for them, and they stopped at the front desk.

"Ms. Chase." The guy there said with a warm smile and a thick New York accent. "Nice to have you back. Who's the friend?" He asked.

"Hi Philip. This is Percy Jackson." She said. "He'll be staying for a few months."

Philip glanced at him. "Alright kid, we just need a signature and a picture. Think you can do that?"

"Yeah, thanks." Percy said, taking the pen from him and signing the terms and conditions.

Philip raised an eyebrow at Annabeth. "Picked up a British one, huh?" He asked, smiling.

Annabeth blushed. "For a little. We'll see." She said, smiling and taking Percy's hand under the desk. Percy took his picture and thanked the guy. "See you later." Annabeth said, leading Percy to the elevators after she picked up the mail they were holding for her.

Annabeth's apartment was one of five on the 46th floor. It was… white. Annabeth laughed at his face.

"I know." She said, setting down her purse. "I um… don't spend much time here."

Percy chuckled. "Yeah, I got that." "Your room is…?" He asked, trailing off.

"All the way down the hall." Annabeth said, pointing as she sorted through her mail. "I don't use all my closet, so feel free to put things in there. _Don't_ make a mess." She said, giving him a look.

Percy put up his hands in defense. "I won't, I won't." He said, putting his suitcase in the room. Based on the empty nightstand versus the one filled with advil, chapstick, an architecture book and condoms, he decided which one was Annabeth's side.

"Hey you want to go grab dinner?" He asked, coming back out to find her sitting on her phone on a barstool. "Maybe buy a plant or something too?"

Annabeth glared at him playfully. "Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" She asked, giving him a kiss as he came up next to her. "Aren't the girls supposed to nag the guys about having better decorating style?"

Percy kissed her again. "Let's go buy a plant." He said, taking her hand and walking towards the door. "Besides, it can be our first baby. Like a trial run."

Annabeth stopped short and gave a nervous laugh. "I, uh…"

"Jesus." Percy said, wanting to slap himself for being so stupid. It had been less than a month since they had gotten back together, and Annabeth was not one for commitment either. "Just, uh, I'm sorry. Forget I said anything, okay?"

Annabeth nodded and started walking again. "I'd still like to get that plant." She said, smiling back at him. Percy grinned, kissing her head.

-0-

An hour and a half later, they were walking out of Annabeth's favorite Chinese place in her neighborhood, hands intertwined, hoping nobody they knew would see them. Annabeth said they were safe and that her mom lived clear across town in a penthouse on the Upper East Side, but the whole we're dating conversation was one he would rather avoid.

Annabeth was laughing, swinging their arms. "So you've really never had greasy chow mein and potstickers before?"

Percy shook his head, chuckling. "Well, yeah, of course I've had a potsticker, but that was about twenty times better."

Annabeth smiled, looking up at him. "I eat it every time I get off a plane. Or when I'm getting over a hangover." She said, laughing. She stuck her hand out to call a taxi. "Hi," She said when they got in. "Chelsea Garden Center Store, please."

Percy grinned. "So we're really buying a plant?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course!" She said. "You convinced me." She said, pausing and giggling. "And the two drinks I had at dinner, but mostly you."

Percy laughed, wrapping his arm around her and giving her a kiss. "Are they open right now? It's past nine."  
"Best thing about New York." She said. "You can get anything at anytime." Percy laughed quietly, looking out the window at the glittering lights of New York. _I could live here._ Percy thought, but he shook it out of his head as soon as the thought came. He couldn't think like that. Annabeth had already expressed the whole taking it slow thing. The last thing their relationship needed was Percy being an idiot and ruining the whole thing.

The garden store was quiet, as expected for a late Wednesday night. The sidewalks were still bustling with people though, and he ran into people about every ten seconds.

"Don't say sorry." Annabeth said as she led him to the plant aisle.

"What?" He asked, not sure what she was referring too.

"On the sidewalk." She said, picking up a small little leafed thing. "What about this?"  
Percy shook his head. "Bigger." He said, so they walked deeper into the store. "What do you mean on the sidewalk?"

"When you run into people on the sidewalk." She said, picking up another plant. Percy shook his head, and they moved on. "People don't apologize here. There's so many people, our mouths would never close."

Percy chuckled. "Okay, whatever you say Miss Local."

Annabeth blushed. "Well you're the one who's weirdly picky with plants."

"Let's get a tree." Percy suggested.

Annabeth opened and closed her mouth. "Are you crazy? Absolutely not!" She protested. Ten minutes later, they were discussing delivery with customer service.

"It'll be about three to five business days." The guy said, staring at Annabeth as if he had never seen a girl before. Percy was tempted to slap him into reality, but he decided against it. Probably not the best way to start his first day in New York.

"Great!" Annabeth said. She tried to pay, but Percy beat her to it.

"This was my idea." He said. "At least let me pay for the overpriced tree."

Annabeth luckily didn't argue, and put her debit card away. Percy paid, and he was about to grab them a cab when Annabeth tugged on his arm.

"I know a bar a few blocks from here." She said, smiling. "Come on, let's go."

Percy smiled against her lips as he leaned down for a kiss. "Okay." He said. "You do

realize we were up at five AM this morning, right?"

Annabeth led him down 11th street. "Who cares? Besides, I have to show you the best of New York while you're here."

"Maybe," He said, leaning down next to her ear. "You're just hoping I stay."

Annabeth blushed and shoved him, but she didn't say anything, so he took that as a good sign.

-0-

The next morning, Percy rolled over, his arm slipping around Annabeth's silk night attire.

"Morning." She murmured, setting her phone down on the nightstand.

"Hi." Percy said, nibbling on her ear. She turned over, and gave him a long kiss. When they finally pulled away from each other, Percy couldn't help the grin that spread across his cheeks. "Why'd you put this back on?" He asked, pulling at her blue slip with black lace. It was one she had here, and Percy liked it.

"I had to use the bathroom." She said, biting her lip. "It felt weird naked. Why do you care?" She asked, smirking.

He kissed her collarbone, sliding the thin strap down. "Easier access." He mumbled against her skin as he made his way down and she threaded her hands through his hair.

Thirty minutes later, they found it in them to roll out of bed. "We're late." Annabeth insisted, running to the bathroom to shower in her glass tile bathroom. Percy stepped in and washed off, avoiding Annabeth's glares as she told him he was making them even later.

He pulled her in for a kiss, laughing. "It's all going to be okay." He promised. She just glared at him more and shoved him out.

They stopped at a coffee shop around the corner, grabbed cappuccinos, stopped at Best Bagels a couple blocks away from there, then hailed a taxi to take them to the Financial District. "370 7th Avenue." Annabeth said, leaning her head on Percy's shoulder as they drove off, slowing down for the first time since they left the house. "I could get used to this." She said against his suit.

He pressed a kiss to her shiny curls. "Me too." He said, trying to hide the ridiculous smile on his face.

Percy was in a good mood up until they walked into the office. Annabeth let go of his hand as they got out of the taxi. The doorman was nice, and said hello to Annabeth.

The problems started when they got up to work. The front desk lady glared at him like he was personally ruining her day. People from their cubicles were whispering as the two of them walked by. He knew Annabeth could tell too, and started walking quicker down the hall. She poked her head in to say hi to her assistant, then shut and locked the door quickly in her huge office.

"They uh… didn't seem to like me." Percy said, walking over to the window that overlooked most of Manhattan. They were so high up, you could see Central Park.

"Yeah…" Annabeth said, slumping into her chair and running a hand through her curls. "They must have heard the rumors."

Percy scoffed. "You think?" He asked, sitting down across from her.

Annabeth turned on her computer and pulled out the file for Zeus. "Just ignore them. We have a lot to do." She said, chewing on the end of her fancy pen. Percy dropped it for now, grabbing the notes and helping Annabeth go over them.


End file.
